Many weed and feed products promise lush green lawns free from dandelions, thistles, and other troublesome weeds. But few honestly deliver.
Before you invest your time and money in a subpar product, you will want to check out our list of the best weed and feed fertilizers.
We looked at all types of 2-in-1 products, from granules to sprays, to find the most effective and easy-to-use weed and feed options available. One of our picks even delivers customized herbicide and fertilizer straight to your door.
It is time to green up your lawn while getting rid of those unsightly weeds once and for all.
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Weed and Feed Comparison Table
Our Top Pick
Best Weed And Feed
Lawn Serv
- Fertilizer and herbicide delivered to your door every month
- Customized picks for your lawn type and region
- Pre- and post-emergent herbicide products
- Season, region, and soil specific fertilizers
- Options for a wide variety of lawn types and herbicide needs
Weed and Feed Product Reviews
Lawn Serv Subscription Service
Key Specifications
- Liquid and granular applications
- Customized for grass type and soil needs
- Prevents crabgrass
- Multiple products to cover all weed types
- Monthly applications
Lawn Serv’s subscription service brings customized fertilizer and herbicide products straight to your door each month throughout the growing season.
Which products you receive varies based on your region, preferences, and soil test results. Options include pre and post-emergent herbicides and a long list of need-specific fertilizers.
Each delivery will offer a mix of products, including 2-in-1s, like Greenview Weed & Feed and Crabgrass Preventer and Jonathan Green Weed & Feed, and focused herbicides and fertilizers. With this monthly service, you’ll get what you exactly need to kill the weeds plaguing your yard while helping your lawn thrive.
Best All-Round Choice
Greenview Fairway Formula
Key Features
- Apply to wet lawn
- Has very few lawn-type restrictions
- Kills broadleaf weeds
- WILL kill crabgrass & poison ivy
- Apply when grasses (and weeds) grow – spring and fall
Unless you live in Florida and have a lawn full of St. Augustinegrass, this formula will likely work for you. There are a few other lawn types to avoid, but GreenView has fewer restrictions than other options.
Since it will kill broadleaf weeds, poison ivy, and crabgrass, you won’t need to buy any other products. Its slow release formula will keep your yard looking its best all season long.
GreenView Fairway Formula is available from Amazon.
Best Big Brand Choice
Scotts Turf Builder
Key Specifications
- Apply to wet lawn
- Works with most lawn types, but read the label to avoid burning your grass
- Kills broadleaf weeds
- Will NOT kill crabgrass
- Apply in the spring
If you want a well-known brand that works well, Scotts Turf Builder is the way to go.
They’ve been building up a reputation for offering a high-quality product for many years, so when your neighbors ask what you use, they’ll immediately recognize your answer and applaud your dedication to keep the neighborhood beautiful.
Scotts Turf Builder is available from Amazon.
Best Budget Choice
BioAdvanced
Key Specifications
- Apply to wet lawn
- Has some lawn-type restrictions – read the label to avoid burning your grass
- Kills broadleaf weeds
- WILL kill crabgrass & poison ivy
- Apply when grasses (and weeds) grow – spring and fall
So long as BioAdvanced All-in-One will work for your lawn type, it is the best choice for those on a budget. It kills all broadleaf weed, including poison ivy, and it will kill crabgrass too.
This will let you avoid the need for a second product. It also offers the flexibility to treat your lawn in the spring or fall.
BioAdvanced is available from Amazon.
Best Choice For Your Garden Beds
MiracleGro Shake ‘N Feed
Key Specifications
- Safe to use on food plants
- Does not KILL any weeds
- Prevents weeds from growing
- Must be applied BEFORE the weeds begin to sprout
Avid gardeners will love MiracleGro’s Shake ‘N Feed. It is safe to use in all flower and vegetable gardens, so you won’t have to worry about enjoying the fruits of your labor.
You’ll also be able to avoid much of the weed-pulling labor, since MiracleGro will stop weeds before they take hold.
MiracleGro Shake ‘N Feed is available from Amazon.
Best Late Season Option
Pennington UltaGreen
Key Specifications
- Apply to wet lawn
- Has some lawn-type restrictions – read the label to avoid burning your grass
- Kills broadleaf weeds
- Will NOT kill crabgrass
- Apply when grasses (and weeds) grow – spring and fall
For the procrastinators of the world, Pennington UltraGreen can save the day and your lawn. It offers the same weed killing power of Scotts but can be applied later in the season. Like Scotts, it won’t kill crabgrass, and Pennington has similar grass restrictions, so be sure to read the label carefully.
Pennington does offer the slow release of nitrogen that will keep your lawn healthy, once you do remember to feed it.
Pennington UltaGreen is available from Amazon.
Best Choice for Small Lawns
Spectracide Weed & Feed 20-0-0
Key Specifications
- Apply by connecting the spray bottle directly to your hose
- Works on most lawn types
- Kills broadleaf weeds – including poison ivy
- Will NOT kill crabgrass
- Apply anytime during the growing season – spring, summer, or fall
Spectracide offers a convenient and easy option for those with a small lawn. This liquid weed and feed connects directly to your hose. It cares for your lawn as you water and will last about 20 minutes, depending on your water pressure.
If your lawn can be watered in about that time, a single bottle will treat all of your grass for a very tiny price.
Spectracide Weed & Feed 20-0-0 is available from Amazon.
Best Liquid Weed and Feed
Bonide Chemical 301
Key Specifications
- Apply by connecting the spray bottle directly to your hose
- Works on most lawn types
- Kills broadleaf weeds – including poison ivy
- Will NOT kill crabgrass
- Apply when grasses (and weeds) grow – spring and fall
While this is not as budget friendly as Spectracide, it will do a better job. For those who prefer the convenience of a liquid the attaches and sprays direction from your hose, this is the most effective choice.
It really will kill your weeds and promote think, full, grass growth.
Bonide Chemical 301 is available from Amazon.
How Weed and Feed Works
Weed and feed products have 2-3 phases of active ingredients. The first 1-2 are herbicides that attach to unwanted plants and kill them. Many weed and feed brands will only kill weeds that have wide leaves. These are called broadleaf weeds and include dandelions, clover, most ground ivy, and many other species.
The weed and feed brands that are also able to kill crabgrass, like GreenView and BioAdvanced, have a second herbicide that specifically targets those narrower leaf weeds. This can be very convenient for those who want to avoid, or forget, to apply a separate crab grass treatment. Of course, these products can sometimes be harder to find, so you’ll want to read the label carefully.
The final phase of weed and feed products is the feed portion. This is primarily nitrogen, though granular formulas will also include some phosphorus and potassium. Many companies have designed this phase as a slow release that will continue to feed your lawn for as long as 3 months.
When applying a granule weed and feed to your lawn, it’s best to spread the product first thing in the morning, when the grass is wet with dew. This moisture allows the granules to stick to the leaves of the plants, so that the weed-killing chemicals can be absorbed by the plant. Applying weed and feed to dry plants is one of the most common application errors people make.
How does selective weed killer work?
Selective weed kills attack only a specific kind of plant. They may specifically target broadleaf plants like so many of the weed and feed products here. Other selective weed killers may target woody plants like bushes.
Whatever they target, selective weed killers got their name because they only kill select kinds of plants when used correctly. If, however, you use too much of a selective weed killer, it will end up killing all the plants. This is one of many reasons to be sure that your spreader or hose is set to correctly distribute your weed and feed across your yard.
Do you need weed and feed?
This is a very controversial topic. Many environmentalists argue that weed and feed runs into our watershed and pollutes rivers, lakes, and even our drinking supply. There’s a lot that you can do to negate this impact though and weed and feed can do a lot of good for your lawn.
Generally speaking, weed and feed is best used on lawns that have been neglected for several years. It’s a great way to promote the growth of healthy grass while eliminating the weeds they may have started to take over. Each year, the lawn should have more healthy grass and less weeds sprouting up, so you can reduce your use of weed and feed over time.
While you are using weed and feed, be sure to sweep any granules off of solid surfaces, like driveways and sidewalks, and back into the lawn itself. The chemicals that get absorbed by the plants will not drain into the water system, so be sure that you don’t over apply. When used responsibly, the soil will also help filter chemicals not absorbed by plants.
If you already have a lush and healthy lawn, you don’t likely need weed and feed. If your lawn has been neglected for several years, it can be a useful tool to promote the development of a healthy lawn. Plan to use weed and feed for 3-6 growing seasons, depending on the condition of your lawn.
Soil testing
All plants, especially your lawn, will require specific soil chemistry to grow properly. Since they pull nutrients from the soil, those nutrients need to be in the soil to start with. While there is a wide array of nutrients found in healthy soil, the key ones to look for are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
There are many kinds of soil test kits available, but a simple pH meter is one of the easiest ways for each of us to monitor the health and quality of our soil. Knowing the pH of your soil can help you choose the right products to use along with helping you choose the right plant to add to a garden.
How should weed and feed be applied?
Granular weed and feed products require the use of a fertilizer spreader that may rotate or drop the small granules evenly around your yard. You will need to set the fertilizer spreader to the right disbursement to ensure even and accurate coverage. Using the wrong setting can lead to too much weed and feed being applied to the yard which will kill all the grass and potentially pollute local water.
Liquid weed and feed uses a different kind of fertilizer spreader. Many liquid options can be screwed directly onto your hose and act as a sprayer nozzle that automatically blends the chemicals with your water using the right ratio. Other liquids may require that you mix them and use a liquid sprayer attached to an ATV or lawn tractor.
Buying Guide
Grass Type
The difference between weed and feed that produces a soft carpet of grass and a dried-up brown wasteland is often the simple choice of weed and feed used for the specific type of grass being grown.
Varieties of grass that are easily killed by common weed and feed brands:
- Centipedegrass
- Carpetgrass
- Bahiagrass
- Dichondra
- Bentgrass
- St. Augustine
St. Augustine grass is particularly challenging since there are two varieties. The floral variety is most commonly found in Florida, while the other variety is more often safe to use weed and feed on.
If your lawn is made up of any of these varieties, you will want to read the labels VERY carefully to ensure that you choose a product that will feed your lawn instead of destroying it.
There is a great guide on identifying grass types here.
Granular vs. Liquid Application
There are generally 2 types of weed and feed products: Granular and Liquid. For the everyday lawn aficionado, liquid is more convenient for small lawns because it can typically be connected directly to your hose and easily sprayed across the yard. It shouldn’t take more than 15-30 minutes to treat your whole yard this way.
Granular is best for mid-size or larger lawns, since the spreader will be easier to push around to ensure even disbursement. It still doesn’t require any mixing, though you’ll want to read the label and be sure to set the spreader to the right number. This is the best choice for lawns larger than ¼ of an acre, but still less than 1 acre.
For owners of large properties who see their spread of lawn as a large carpet to be shown off with pride, a liquid concentrate is the way to go. It will require correctly diluting the weed and feed but pulling a sprayer behind a motorized vehicle is preferable to walking all over creation behind a granular spreader. These large-scale liquid concentrates require a bit more confidence and know-how than the simple sprayer liquids or the granule options, but they really are the only way to weed and feed more than an acre of lawn.
The Wrap Up
Lawn Serv’s saves you from the hassle and effort of experimenting with different products. Their well-thought-out and personalized subscription-based program offer the best solution for varying lawn care needs. Every month you’ll be provided with the most effective herbicides and beneficial fertilizers that are tailored fit based on your region, preferences, and soil test results.
