Tall Fescue

Festuca arundinacea

Tall Fescue is a cool-season turf grass that is well-adapted to either sunny or partially shaded areas. Known for its durability as well as its tolerance to traffic, heat and drought, it can be found in home lawns across North America. Certain varieties of Tall Fescue can contain endophytic fungi, which offer natural disease and insect resistance.

Identify

Tall Fescue can be identified by its leaves that are rolled in the bud and short, membranous ligules. The collar is broad and continuous, and auricles are absent in this turf grass. Tall Fescue sheaths are not compressed and are reddish-pink in color below ground level. The flat blades are strongly veined above, rough along the edges and sharply pointed at the tips. The seed head grows vertically with a somewhat compressed panicle and spikelets containing between six and eight seeds.

Life Cycle

Care

Though durable, Tall Fescue has a poor tolerance of cold weather. Clumps may also form due to the fine grass blades of this turf grass. It also requires frequent watering in the absence of rainfall, and due to its bunch-type growth, open areas often need to be reseeded after development. In the wrong climate, this can sometimes make proper turf grass management programs more intensive.

Characteristic Chart