Should I Plant Fescue Grass?

Growth Habit

• Fescue is a bunch-type, deep-rooted perennial grass that grows quickly during the spring and fall. Because tall fescue is a cool season grass, it remains green nine months out of the year. During extremely hot weather, fescue goes dormant and turns brown but if you irrigate regularly, you'll keep the brown cycle at bay.

Cultivation

• Prepare your seedbed, preferably in early fall, by tilling to a depth of 3 to 4 inches and then firm with a roller before you seed. Seed at the rate of 6 to 8 lbs. per 1,000 square feet of lawn. If you missed the fall planting season, seed as early in the spring as the ground can be worked, using the same technique. Keep the seedbed moist for the first 21 days. After the first three weeks, gradually decrease watering frequency. When your new stand of fescue reaches 3 inches, mow it down to 2 inches.

Care

• Mow your fescue regularly, keeping your lawn height between 2 and 3 inches. Because a dense fescue is the best fescue, proper mowing and fertilization is essential. Following package recommendations, introduce a nitrogen fertilizer in May and again in September and late October. In addition, you may want to overseed your lawn every other year to perpetuate its density.

Cultivars

• If you plant tall fescue, avoid the older Kentucky 31 varieties that some garden stores carry. Instead rely on the newer, finer textured cultivars because they have good insect and disease resistance and provide a thinner blade of grass with a finer texture. Try 2nd Millennium, Endeavor, Pure Bold and Wolfpack clutivars for the best results.

Considerations

• Purchase and seed only turf-type tall fescues or blends that may consist of bluegrass, fine fescue and perennial ryegrass. Tall fescue grows well in most of the country with the exception of the southern reaches of the Southeast, coastal Carolinas, Texas and southern Arizona and New Mexico.

  Because fescue toxicity is a problem with grazing animals, pet owners express concern about seeding tall fescue in home lawns. According to a poison specialist at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, pets that nibble fescue experience no side effects. Your county extension agent is a good source of information concerning lawn seed that works best in your area of the country.