How to Cut Back Festuca Glauca

Festuca glauca, or blue fescue, is an attractive grass frequently used as a ground cover or ornamental accent within a larger bed. It forms rounded, hedgehog-like clumps of spear-shaped leaves, with a distinctive blue-grey color. Festuca glauca doesn't spread well, so it must be spaced only 8 to 10 inches apart, to provide an adequate cover and to crowd out weeds. It must be divided and replanted every two or three years; aside from that, it needs only to be cut back at the beginning of each spring to foster new growth.

Hand cultivator
Gardening gloves
Garden shears

Instructions

- 1
  Use a three-pronged hand cultivator and gloved hands to remove dead leaves, weeds and other winter detritus from around the fescue.
- 2
  Grasp a handful of the previous year's dry foliage in your non-dominant hand. With your other hand, snip the old growth to a height of 3 or 4 inches.
- 3
  Repeat, until you've worked your way around the entire clump of grass. Stack the trimmed foliage neatly to one side, where it can be easily cleaned up when you're finished.
- 4
  Divide the grass, if necessary, replanting half of the clump in another location.
- 5
  Trim the edges of each clump of fescue, to give it a rounded profile, similar to its appearance when the fresh growth comes in. This step is optional, but maintains the normal appearance of the grass.

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