Fescue: characteristics of species, how to plant and grow

HomeAll flowers that start with FFescue: characteristics of species, how to plant and grow

The fescue plant is an indispensable garden crop that helps not only decorate the site without much hassle and effort, but also allows even an inexperienced gardener to implement interesting ideas and create beautiful compositions.

In addition, the methods of growing this cereal are very simple. According to its characteristics, it is frost-resistant and does not require shelter for the winter.

It grows rapidly and turns into a lush curtain already in the first year of planting. Another advantage of the plant is that it does not allow weeds to grow, filling all the voids in the area.

During the cultivation of fescue in the garden, the area always looks clean, tidy and well-groomed.

What garden grass fescue looks like (photo)

Under natural conditions, it grows in temperate and cold regions of the planet. It is found in the mountainous regions of Russia.
The genus Fescue combines several species: red fescue; sheep; gigantic; meadow and others. Many of them are gardening.

All these species have a great similarity in the structure of shoots, inflorescences, flowers. Differences are manifested in the color of the glumes and in the presence or absence of awns in the lower lemmas.

The scientific name of the genus Fescue – Festuca – comes from the Celtic word fest, which means “food”. This word was used to evaluate the good fodder qualities of plants of this genus.

According to its description, fescue is a perennial herbaceous rhizomatous plant with small, but strong, creeping roots. The stem is thin, erect, green, 10 to 20 cm high. Some species reach 200 cm in height.

Foliage is formed at the nodes of lateral shoots. The leaves are narrow, up to 1.5 cm wide, linear, rough or hairy.

Inflorescences loose, paniculate, yellowish-green, consist of short spikelets on a thin pedicel. The length of the inflorescence is 15 – 20 cm. The length of the ear is about 1.5 cm. The spikelets have keeled scales of different sizes. Blooms in July – August.

The fruit is a small grain.

Reproduction of fescue cereal is carried out in two ways: by dividing the bushes, less often by seeds.

Popular types of fescue (with photo)

Meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis Huds.).

Mid-summer riding friable bush grass, winter type of development.

The main mass of fibrous roots of meadow fescue grass is located at a depth of up to 25 cm. The stems are smooth, cylindrical, rising at the base, from 60 to 120 cm high. There are many stems in the bush, good foliage. The leaves are linear, soft, up to 5 mm wide, slightly rough along the edges, shiny, bright green on the underside of the plate. Uvula up to 1 mm long.

The flowers are collected in a panicle 15–20 cm long. The panicle is compressed, narrow, one-sided, sprawling during flowering. The branches are rough, in the lower part of the inflorescence depart from the main axis in two. Spikelets lanceolate, 4–9-flowered, on clearly visible pedicels of various lengths, cylindrical, laterally compressed.

Flowers without awns. The lower branches are one or two, a long branch with 4–5 spikelets, a short branch with 1–2 spikelets.

The fruit is an oblong caryopsis, brownish in color with a clearly visible embryo. Seeds are flowing, large.

Meadow fescue is widespread in the forest and forest-steppe zones. It grows in wet meadows, less often in upland ones. Prefers rich, loamy, moderately moist soils. It is less common on sandy and sandy soils. It grows well in floodplain meadows, where it reaches a large share in the herbage. It develops poorly on acidic soils.

Blossoms in the second half of June, the seeds ripen in late July. It grows early in spring, but then develops slowly. It is characterized by an average pace of development. Vegetative shoots forms until late autumn. In the year of sowing, it gives only a vegetative mass and many non-flowering, but well leafy stems. It reaches full development in the second or third year.

A medium-sized plant, often in herbage lasts 7-8 years. Mid-season cereal. Moisture-loving plant, mesophyte, reacts negatively to drought. Flooding by hollow waters endures 20–25 days. Responds well to irrigation. It is considered one of the best grasses for irrigated meadows. It is frost-resistant, well transfers late spring frosts. Prone to lodging.

Below is a photo of a meadow fescue plant, where the distinctive features of this species are clearly visible.

Festuca hondoensis (Ohwi) Ohwi.

Perennial plant, forms dense tufts with predominantly intravaginal shoots. Stems 30-50 cm tall, thin, smooth. The sheaths of the inner leaves of vegetative shoots are fused for 1/2 of their length. Leaf blades up to 0.5 mm in diameter, elongated, hair-like, soft, smooth on the outside.

Panicles 6-8 cm long, loose, purple-colored. Spikelets 4.7-5.2 mm long, with 4-6 flowers.
Flowering in July, fruiting in August.
On rocky slopes, open gravelly tops of small hills and on seaside rocks.

Furrowed fescue, fescue (Festuca valesiaca (Hask.) Gaudin).

Furrowed fescue is a perennial plant, a grassroots densely bushy cereal, of a winter type of development. This is one of the most popular species of the genus. The root system is fibrous, deepening into the soil up to 80 cm. Plant height is on average 30–35 cm, on solonetzes 15–20 cm, on chernozems 40–50 cm. The stems are numerous, straight and smooth. Forms a large number of basal leaves. Few stem leaves.

The leaves are gray-green in color, bristle-shaped, with grooves on the lower and upper sides of the leaf. Leaf sheaths in the lower part are closed, glabrous or pubescent. The tongue is in the form of a fringe. If you look at the following photo of fescue grass, you can see that its inflorescence is a panicle, the length of which can reach from 5 to 11 cm. The panicle is sprawling during flowering, compressed after flowering.

Panicle twigs are short, sharply rough, in the lower part of the panicle depart one at a time. Spikelets 3-6-flowered, lanceolate, pale green or purple. Spikelet scales are unequal, broadly lanceolate. Upper lemma without awn. The lower floral scales are short-awned, rough in the upper part. The fruit is a caryopsis, oblong, up to 2 mm long, with a clearly visible embryo.

The type of fescue – furrowed grows mainly in the steppes, steppe river valleys, on old fallow and virgin lands. It grows well on chestnut, chernozem and solonetz soils. In relation to water, it is a typical xerophyte. From spring it grows earlier than other cereals for 5–10 days, after flowering it quickly becomes coarser.

During July and August it is dormant and does not grow back. With the onset of the rainy period, regrowth resumes. Blossoms in May, seeds ripen in late June. It leaves green in winter and overwinters in this form. It is one of the most drought-resistant and frost-resistant plants. It has a slow pace of development, reaching full development in the third year.

The plant is perennial, in herbage keeps for decades.

Red fescue (Festuca rubra L.).

Perennial plant of winter type of development. Not all gardeners know what red fescue grass looks like, meanwhile, it is a grassroots cereal, which also has rhizome-loose bush forms. The most valuable are rhizomatous.
The rhizomes are short with numerous fibrous roots, deepening into the soil up to 125 cm. The bulk of the roots is located in the upper soil layer at a depth of 20 cm. The plants form loose tufts.

The stems are cylindrical, thin, smooth, rough under the panicle, with ascending bases covered with reddish-brown sheaths. Leaves of two types: stem leaves with a short blade 1.5–2.5 cm and a large number of basal leaves – bristle-like, folded lengthwise.

The sheaths of the upper leaves are bare, those of the lower leaves are pubescent. The tongue, located on the border of the plate and the vagina, is small in the form of a fringe. Inflorescence – panicle from 6 to 15 cm long, sprawling during flowering, compressed after flowering. The panicle branches are rough, one or two depart from the lower part of the main axis of the inflorescence. Spikelets green or purple, 4-9-flowered.
Spikelet scales are lanceolate, sharp, rough in the upper part, of unequal length. The lower lemma is narrow-lanceolate with slightly visible veins, glabrous or hairy, with a short awn. The fruit is a caryopsis, about 3 mm long.

To better understand what red fescue looks like, you can see the photo below.

Red fescue is common in forest and forest-steppe zones. It grows in meadows, wet slopes, in forests, among shrubs, in sparse birch forests, in pine forests, on old fallows.
The plant is winter-hardy, not drought-resistant and not salt-tolerant. In the spring it starts to grow early, and in the autumn it goes into the winter in a green state. It is distinguished by a slow pace of development, reaching full development in the third or fourth year.
It stays in grass stands for more than 10 years. Flooding endures up to 35 days, they respond well to weak silting. It does not form flowering shoots in the year of sowing. In the years of use, it blooms in late May – early June. Seeds ripen in July.

Sheep fescue (Festuca ovina L.).

According to the description, sheep fescue grass is a perennial plant, a grassroots loose sod grass with a fibrous root system. The plant is 30–60 cm high, the stems are straight, smooth, in appearance it does not sharply differ from furrowed fescue. The leaves are basal, bristle-shaped or thin subulate, mostly green, not bluish, rounded in cross section, without grooves on the sides. Tongue with ears. Inflorescence – panicle.
Spikelets many-flowered, lanceolate. Spikelet scales are sharp. The lower lemma is pointed or with a short awn. The fruit is a grain.
Sheep fescue is widespread in the forest and forest-steppe zones. In the forest zone, it occurs on absolute upland, especially on strongly podzolic soils. In relation to water, it is mesophyte. The plant is moisture-loving and grows well in more northern latitudes.
The grass is early ripening, starts growing early in spring, blooms in late May – early June, the seeds ripen in the first half of July. A plant with a slow rate of development, in herbage lasts up to 10 years.

A photo is attached to the description of sheep fescue, in which you can consider the characteristic features of this culture.

Reed fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.).

Perennial top loose bushy grass, up to 1.5 m high with a powerful root system, winter type of development. It has a thickened stem and many basal leaves. It differs from meadow fescue in the presence of awns at the lower lemma and a large number of spikelets in the lower part of the panicle, longevity (crops are used for 10–15 years).

In spring, it quickly starts growing and forms biomass earlier than other grasses.

Moisture-loving and winter-hardy plant. It grows best with sufficient soil moisture and under irrigation conditions. However, it does not tolerate floodplains and estuaries. Introduced into culture and recognized in many countries of the world.

Alpine fescue (Festuca alpina).

A plant with a strong, well-developed root system. The stems are generative, about 70 cm long. The leaves are formed mainly in the upper part of the stem.

Gray fescue (Festuca glauca).

The most popular type of perennial fescue grass used in ornamental gardening. It is a herbaceous perennial plant with a straight stem up to 60 cm high. The leaf plates are narrow, resembling a thin tube. Thanks to this form of leaves, the plant can do without moisture for a long time. The leaves have a bluish-gray color, for which the fescue of this species got its name. In autumn, the leaves become lighter, but this does not lose their decorative effect.
The inflorescence is a panicle with small, inconspicuous, light brown flowers. Peduncles straight, with inconspicuous spikelets. Flowering lasts from June to July.

Amethyst fescue (Festuca amethystina).

Tall perennial herbaceous plant, reaching up to 60 cm and formed with a rounded, asymmetric tussock growing in width. The diameter of the overgrown bush can be up to 100 cm. The leaves are dense, hard, thin, needle-shaped, blue, gray, sometimes green.
Inflorescences – loose panicles of a light green color. Peduncles thin, long.

Pale fescue (Festuca pallens).

When describing a pale fescue plant, it should be noted that this is a cereal that changes the color of the leaves from dark green to light gray. It is a dense turf, lying in one direction and reaching up to 40 cm in height. The leaves are narrow, bristle-like, rough. Inflorescences are loose panicles about 8 cm long.
Mayeri’s fescue (Festuca mairei).
It is one of the most decorative buntings. It is a symmetrical, bright green, lush curtain. Sod is spherical, up to 70 cm in height. The leaves are gray-green, hard, rounded in cross section, needle-shaped, with a glossy surface. Inflorescences are large, spreading, graceful panicles.

For a more detailed acquaintance with the types of fescue, the photos below are given, which will help you understand what their distinguishing features are and how they will look on the site.

Features of growing fescue

Knowing how to properly grow fescue on the site, the gardener will be able to achieve excellent results. Some tips for its content are given below.
Location. Fescue grows well only in bright sunny areas. In order for the plant to grow and develop successfully, you need to choose for it only well-lit areas in the garden. Suitable open places on the south side, where the lighting is the longest and most intense. The more light the fescue receives, the better it feels.
She is not afraid of either direct sunlight or sunshine. In addition, this culture reacts normally to high temperature and drought.
Before planting fescue, you need to consider that in partial shade and shade, as well as in drafts, this plant will not develop.
The soil. The culture is undemanding to the soil. Prefers loose, dry, sandy and light loamy soils with good drainage. The risk of moisture stagnation in the soil must be completely eliminated. The gardener needs to take into account that nutrient soils are undesirable for this plant. It will thrive in an area with minimal nutrients. This is the nature of fescue.
It has been noticed that the most lush curtains are formed when planting fescue on dry rocky places in the garden. Therefore, the plant is ideal for rock gardens and rockeries.
Frost resistance. When caring for fescue when growing it, you need to remember that the plant has a high cold resistance, it is not damaged even in harsh winters at very low temperatures. Does not need winter shelter. However, the gardener is advised to choose species and varieties of this crop that have been acclimatized to the region where they will be grown.
Watering. Fescue does not need watering. The exceptions are prolonged drought and extreme heat. In these cases, light irrigation of the bushes from a watering can is sufficient. Excess and stagnation of moisture leads to decay of the root system and the death of a significant part of the plant.
Topdressing. It is enough to apply fertilizer 1 time per season.
Transplantation and rejuvenation. The disadvantage of cereal is its rapid degeneration. So, already after 2 – 3 years after planting, you can observe the death of the central part of the bush. For this reason, in order to maintain an attractive appearance of fescue, rejuvenation of the plant should be included in its care.
Before transplanting plants, the soil is dug up, loosened, slaked lime and a small amount of sand are added.
It is worth noting that after transplanting to a new place, the sods quickly grow in width and look very impressive already in the year of transplantation.
Other care. Despite its unpretentiousness to growing conditions, fescue grass needs care after planting. In the spring, it is required to clean the plant from the remnants of dry foliage. This work can be done by hand or with a rake.
After flowering, the inflorescences should be cut at the level of the leaves. This will help keep the bush looking neat.

How to plant and grow fescue from seeds

The following are recommendations with photos for planting perennial fescue seeds for seedlings and caring for crops at home.

If this plant is already on the site, it will propagate by self-seeding. Ripe seeds spill out of the ears onto the ground and sprout in the spring. A month later, the grown sprouts are transplanted to a permanent place.
To grow fescue from seeds, you can purchase them at the store and grow seedlings from them at home. This work is done in February.
The seeds are pre-soaked in a weak solution of manganese, then sown in a container filled with soil mixture. To get a dense mop, the seeds are planted at a close distance from each other. Holes are made about 5 cm deep and 6-7 seeds are placed in each of them. The distance between the holes should be 15 – 20 cm. The holes are sprinkled with earth from above and the soil surface is leveled. It will be correct to keep seedling boxes in a cool place with good ventilation. As the earthen clod dries, watering is carried out.
After 2 weeks, shoots appear, which, if they are well looked after, carrying out timely watering and airing, grow quickly enough and soon form a dense turf. After that, it is possible to plant fescue in open ground and further care for young plants for their rapid growth and development.

Fescue breeding method – dividing the bush

The division of the bushes is carried out in February – March. The overgrown bush is dug up, divided into several large parts. The delenki are placed in boxes with soil, and they are planted in open ground in June at a distance of 4-8 cm. Before planting the delenki, you need to prepare the soil: add compost or humus to it.
Some gardeners, having decided to use the fescue breeding method – dividing the bush, dig out the sod in September, place the bush in a wide pot and clean it for the winter in a cool, bright, dry place. In early spring, the plant is divided into parts and planted in containers with soil mixture.
Delenki are planted in the ground in May when stable warm weather is established. Despite the fact that fescue is a frost-resistant plant, young immature individuals can be damaged by frost.
For planting a perennial fescue and successfully caring for it, illuminated areas with loose, light, neutral or slightly acidic soil are chosen.
In this way, stronger, developed plants are obtained that look lush and decorative in the first year.

How to use fescue in the garden

Gardeners who know how and where to plant fescue always find it widely used in garden plots, because lush green bushes help to decorate even a large area and give it a more noble look. This culture can simply be “scattered” around the garden by planting lush sods where you want to fill the empty space.
This plant is suitable for rockeries, mixborders, rabatok. And how beautiful and unusual fescue looks in flower beds along with colorful perennial flowers, for example, carnations, muzzle, yarrow tavoglov.
Lush bushes are planted in whole arrays near undersized and medium-sized trees. This culture looks spectacular in baskets and containers next to flowering summer plants.
The gray look is used to create carpet flower beds.
Fescue is a versatile plant that harmonizes with almost all garden crops. It looks beautiful and natural against the background of wicker garden furniture, boulders, artificial reservoirs.
With the help of fescue, you can create stylish original compositions. This grass is also used to create lawns.
More information about the types, cultivation and reproduction of fescue can be found by watching the video below on the page.

Share with your friends

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Other flowers
Other people actively read

Saintpaulia care: watering the uzambar violet

Wasps with a bizarre flower shape and chimeras with a unique...

Brovallia (Browallia) american and magnificent – cultivation and care

Description: annual (some species are perennial ), flowering, shrubby plant of...

Flowers in an inexpensive hotel in Moscow: budget floral decor

It was Jack Trout, the world-class marketing guru, who said that...
Wednesday, November 8, 2023