About Fescue Grass Lawns
Fescue is a cool-season grass; that means it grows best in the spring and fall when temperatures are cooler, and it struggles during the heat of summer. Under the right conditions, fescue is green year-round, but it can go dormant (brown) during severe heat and drought.
Because fescue is slightly more heat tolerant than other cool-season grasses, it’s a great choice for lawns located in the “transition zone,” where summers are too hot for other cool-season grasses, but winters may be too cold for warm-season grasses.
Fescue is a common lawn grass throughout much of the U.S. and Canada. These types of grasses are generally known for their year-round green color, drought resistance, and shade tolerance. Here’s what you need to know about growing fescue grass in your lawn.
Advantages of Fescue Grasses
There are over 30 different varieties of fescue grasses. In general, most fescues are:
Shade Tolerant: Though it varies by type, fescue grasses in general can tolerate more shade than other cool-season lawn grasses and are frequently included in shade-tolerant seed mixes.
Drought Tolerant: All grasses need water, but fescues are moderately drought tolerant and slower to go dormant than other cool-season grasses.
Erosion Resistant: Fescues – particularly coarse, clumping varieties – become established quickly and are great for slopes and erosion control.
Traffic Tolerant: Fescues hold up well in heavily trafficked areas and are often used for home lawns, playing fields, and other areas that get a lot of foot traffic.
Tolerant of Poor Soil: Many varieties of fescue are easy to grow even in compacted, clay-based soil and low-fertility, sandy soil.
Types of Fescue Grasses
Fescue grasses are generally divided into tall and fine varieties.
Tall Fescue Grasses
This broad-leaved grass is the most heat and drought tolerant of all fescues, but it’s coarser in texture. Tall fescue is the type more often seen in common lawn seed blends.
Fine Fescue Grasses
These types of fescue have finer blades and a softer texture than tall fescue. Fine fescue tolerates cold and shade a little better than tall fescue. Popular types of fine fescue include:
Chewings Fescue: The fescue with the finest texture, chewings fescue also has an upright clumping growth habit. It’s a little less traffic tolerant than other fescues but tolerates poor and sandy soil, so it’s often mixed with other seed blends for shady and tough areas.
Creeping Red Fescue: This type of fescue is very fine textured and grows by rhizomes that creep underground. Its shade tolerance and ability to spread makes creeping red fescue a great choice for shady lawns.
Hard Fescue: This slow growing grass has a deep blue-green color and is the most heat tolerant of the fine fescues. It tolerates salt, drought, poor soil, and shade. Hard fescue is slow growing and is often used for unmown meadows, where it tops out at about 6” tall.
Sheep’s Fescue: This fescue grows in large clumps, up to 16” tall, and is often used for erosion control and naturalized areas.