Tall Fescue
A versatile cool-season grass found throughout the US, including the challenging Transition Zone. Tall fescue has medium-to-coarse blades, forms a bunch-type grass, and stays green year-round in many climates. It is more heat and drought-tolerant than other cool-season grasses, making it a popular choice where summers are hot.
- Season
- Cool-season
- Mow height
- 3–4 inches
- Spreads by
- Bunch-forming
- Blade width
- Medium
- Drought tolerance
- Medium
- Shade tolerance
- Medium
- Regions
- Transition Zone, Northern US, Pacific Coast
Tall Fescue (Festuca arundinacea / Schedonorus arundinaceus) is the most adaptable cool-season turfgrass. It can survive summers that would kill Kentucky Bluegrass and winters that would kill Bermuda — making it the dominant grass in the Transition Zone (think Virginia, Tennessee, Kansas).
Best use: Home lawns in the Transition Zone and across the northern US. Good choice for areas with hot summers and mild winters.
Mowing: Keep at 3–4 inches — taller than most grasses. The extra leaf area helps it survive summer heat. Never cut below 2.5 inches.
Fertilizer: Moderate feeder — 2–3 lbs nitrogen per 1,000 sq ft per year. Fall is the most important feeding time.
Watering: Moderate need. More drought-tolerant than Kentucky Bluegrass but less than warm-season grasses.
Identification tip: Wide, ribbed blades. Newer "Turf Type Tall Fescue" (TTTF) varieties are finer-bladed and produce denser turf than older varieties.
More on Grass Types
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