tall fescue vs fine fescue

and ssp.) Tradition Fine Fescue Seed Mix is an excellent cool season grass choice for low maintenance lawns, golf courses and for establishing and stabilizing naturalized areas. Those who are interested in planting tall fescue would be better suited planting the aforementioned Turf Type Tall Fescues. 35-45" Approx. Walking on new grass can damage and even kill it. This fescue variant is most commonly used in golf course roughs. When many individuals hear the grass specie “tall fescue”, they envision a course, clumpy grass they see in pastures. Red fescue is usually adapted to soil and climatic conditions favorable to chewings fescue. The majority of the species clump and form tufts with the exception of the red creeping varieties, which spread by rhizomes. Though fine differ in appearance, fine fescue is often blended together (see our Fine Fescue Blend) as well as seeded alone. Tall fescue tolerates shade better than all cool-season grasses except fine fescues. You want to plant grass, not weeds. Bluegrass and rye can also be included in the mix, if desired. Turf-type tall fescue are becoming a popular turfgrass for homes and industrial sites. Today it – and its descendants – are among the most planted cool season grasses in our country and for good reason: tall fescue is versatile and durable and makes for an excellent lawns. They have been developed by seed companies to provide a finer textured leaf blade – somewhere between the forage-type and fine fescues previously mentioned. Fine fescue is the collective term for all fine-leaved fescue grasses. Fescue Pros: Fescue has a thicker turf, with a beautiful color. Fescue Cons: It takes a lot more water to keep fescue grass looking sharp. However, it has one particular nemesis: brown patch. These grasses are perfect for temperate and cooler regions, especially maritime and low mountainous climates. Tall fescue produces very little thatch and should not ever require actual dethatching. You’ve read all about the pros and cons of fescue grass, so what’s your verdict? In short, while the claims made by seed merchants are technically true, homeowners will still need to overseed these fescues quite regularly. Those in cooler climates – Zones 4 and 5 – may want to seed as early as mid-August. While important, these grasses will not be covered in this post, and will instead be the subject of a separate Guide. 45-55" 50" and taller Leaf texture Fine Fine Finer than 4 & 5 Finer than KY-31 Only a handful of these have any relevance to lawncare but parsing them out can be complicated. For better or for worse, there is no one-size-fits-all recommendation for watering times or frequency; these will vary depending on the weather, climate, and soils of the lawn being seeded. Dr. Fergus identified the grass as tall fescue and collected seeds from the farm. Tall Fescue is a cool-season grass that has been the grass seed of choice in the mid-Atlantic and northeastern states for nearly 30 years and for about the last decade in the Midwest and far-western states like California. Our liquid soil loosener takes all of the stress for you and... INCREASES WATER UPTAKE & DRAINAGE: Saving you time and money from having to over-water your lawn. Tall fescue should be seeded in the late summer or early fall as soil temperatures descend into the low seventies. These amounts will vary and a soil test will go a long way towards figuring out the exact amounts for any particular lawn. Fine Fescue Pictures and Facts. To seed it, follow these steps: When planting tall fescue at least four varieties should be mixed together. Fine Fescue include various cool-season bunch and sod-forming species that can be used in water-wise lawns. Mechanical aeration should be done at least once per year, preferably in the fall. Fine Leaf Fescue are an older name for the popular "Turf-Type" Tall Fescues. Tall fescue requires about 1 lb of nitrogen fertilizer per 1000 sq. Just as a great chef cannot turn a low quality steak into an outstanding dinner, no fertilizer or fancy soil amendments will turn a yard planted with mediocre seed into a outstanding lawn. The one linked to here, Scotts Turf Builder Starter Food for New Grass Plus Weed Preventer, is particularly excellent as it contains not just the nutrients that new grass requires, but also has a small amount of mesotrione, a pre-emergent herbicide that will prevent weeds for up to a month. And that isn’t all we offer — we provide full-service, , from weekly mowing and aerating to overseeding and irrigation. Perennial rye has a fine texture with light green leaf blades and a folded cross-section. Fine fescue is okay to blend with both Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass in small, evenly-distributed amounts although it may be noticeable when concentrated into patches. At the end of each summer the homeowner should evaluate his or her lawn and decide if seeding is needed or not. Your email address will not be published. If it is not, a pre-emergent herbicide should be put down to prevent poa annua in the following spring. The Fine Fescues are fine, shorter fescue grass varieties named creeping red, hard fescue, chewings fescue and sheep fescue. KY-31, the variety that made Dr. Fergus famous – at least in the world of grass – remains readily available over seventy-five years after its release. For severely compacted soils, liquid aeration products can be applied any time during the growing season. Creeping red fescue, chewings fesc ue, hard fescue, and sheep fescue grass are in the category of fine leaved grass defined as fine fescue. As mentioned earlier, many of the cultivars not on this best performers lists can still be wonderful turfgrass selection for a … It offers a nearly instant lawn and initial success is virtually guaranteed. Because it’s the safest way to plant fine fescue. Fine fescues are … Varieties of tall fescue are distinguished by a taller and tougher stalk than fine fescue, producing a coarser appearance and texture when laid in a lawn. For tall fescue seed, you need at least 85 percent and slightly higher for the fine fescues, Tennessee says. This will enable new grass to grow successfully without competition from weeds. Fine fescue will also be much shorter than a grass like tall fescue. Many growers have trouble determining if they have fine fescue vs. t… Tall fescue should be fertilized in the spring and fall with lighter applications in the spring and heavier ones in the fall. Be sure to read the labels of any product applied; many herbicides will require a period of three or four weeks between spraying and planting new seed. For those willing to sacrifice the color and density of bluegrass, and be willing to do an occasional over-seeding fall to thicken up the turf and repair any damaged area, this can be an … Creeping red fescue, chewings fescue and hard fescue are all part of this group. Using too much seed will lead to a situation where tall fescue competes with itself for water or nutrients. Leaves are medium green to blue green with a fine texture. In places with hot and humid summers, monthly applications of azoxystrobin and propiconazole should be applied. It was brought to the United States in the nineteenth century as a pasture grass and remains extensively used for that purpose with over thirty-five million acres planted. These tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass trials used to develop these best performers evaluated 680 tall fescue entries and 454 Kentucky bluegrass entries. The grass discovered and then bred by Dr. Fergus is a cultivar – or variety – of tall fescue and it was this grass that was first planted in home lawns. Post by swami7774 » September 4th, 2012, 12:44 am When the leaves are out, the area is very filtered (barely any direct sun) throughout the day. It is important to remember that Dr. Fergus was a professor of agronomy whose research focused on forage crops. For new lawns tall fescue should be seeded at 8 to 9 pounds per thousand square feet. This grass type is a cool-season grass—it takes better to cooler weather. For those who are unable to meet these watering requirements, a hygroscopic product can be applied to help ensure seed does not dry out. This species doesn’t handle summer stress very well, and is susceptible to a number of diseases. Now, while it will still grow in a way that’s patchy, if left wild it will not get too large. Like rye and unlike bluegrass and most of the warm season grasses, tall fescue does not spread via rhizomes – underground growth – or stolons – aboveground growth. Throughout the 1930s Dr. Fergus planted and selectively bred the seeds he took from the farm in eastern Kentucky but reflecting his academic background, his selections were based on performance in pastures, not lawns. Fescue will get very tall, if it is not kept mowed and maintained. However, even in the thickest lawns some weeds will make it through. While at the competition he was approached by a local man who asked if he was aware of a wondrous grass that was growing on a nearby farm. The larger blades form clumps as opposed to a carpet, and are several times thicker than fine fescue. This type of fescue does well in the northern United States and Canada, and it is known for its drought … Cool season grasses – which include fescue, bluegrass and rye – do best in the central to northern parts of the United States or in milder parts of southern California. Yes. It does produce short rhizomes, but its spreading capacity is limited. For overseeding – meaning planting fescue into an already existing lawn – a rate of 4 to 6 pounds should suffice. Seed should be spread using a broadcast spreader and then pressed into the soil using a lawn roller. There are many great tall fescue yards in places like Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Kansas. This will stress tall fescue and make it more susceptible to disease. In this video I give you some thoughts on whether or not tall fescue might be the best cool season grass type. To get started with any lawn care or landscaping project, please give us a call at 417-724-0318 or. Fescue is a genus of grasses native to both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. Is there any truth to this? The best way to prevent weeds is to have a thick, healthy lawn. In an effort to end the confusion between fine fescue and fine leaf fescue, the later name was changed. Since the early 1970s, tall fescue has been the predominant cool-season It has a coarse texture and deep roots. Many will provide advice and instructions for achieving better balance and structure in the soil. That said, it is safe to say that tall fescue does best in Hardiness Zones 5, 6 and 7. Unlike grasses that spread by above- and below-ground stems, known as stolons and rhizomes respectively, tall fescue is a bunch-forming grass. To do this, match the correct herbicide or herbicide blend to the weeds or grasses being targeted. Although it is a cool-season grass, many blends maximize their duration by adding other varieties that allow it to stay healthy during warmer months. ft. and 1 inch of water per week while Kentucky bluegrass needs at least 3 lb of nitrogen fertilizer and 2 inches of water each week. Certain elite varieties of tall fescue may do well at slightly lower heights, particularly in areas with mild weather, but those who desire a truly low cut lawn should not plant fescue and instead look to rye or bluegrass. Comparative Chart, Tall and Fine Fescues. Fescues have always been popular as a shade grass but within the genus Festuca there are over 300 different species of grasses with many different uses and benefits well beyond shade tolerance. Fine texture with light green leaf blades are slightly wider than a like..., it is safe to say that tall fescue grass very well, and hay virtually guaranteed main! Done in the fall, 4 ” to 4.5 ” is preferred 680 tall fescue Kentucky. 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