Tall fescue grass (Festuca arundinacea) is an herbaceous perennial turfgrass, it belongs to the Festuca grass of flowery plants and the Poaceae family of grasses in the order of Poales. The fescue grass is also a monocotyledonous plant with many domestic and economical benefits. However, grasses belonging to the Festuca (fescue) genus are seen to be evergreen and they generally grow up to about a height of about 10-200cm.
These grasses occur in every part of the earth except in Antarctica. You should know that the pollen of grasses belonging to the Festuca genus contributes to hay fever. However, this monocot is an herbaceous perennial grass widely known for being climate tolerant and also an ideal choice amongst homeowners.
If you are interested in growing this grass on your lawn, read on as we will be sharing tips and guides regarding what to do and what you can expect when you grow a fescue lawn. Tall fescue grass over the years has grown to be a very popular selection for homeowners in certain parts of the world.
The grass is known to be a cool-season grass with heat, and cold tolerant. These properties are what made it to be this popular amongst homeowners. The tall fescue grass seed (festuca arundinacea seed) is well suited for areas that experience both warm and cool seasons.
This monocot forms a growth pattern that rarely requires detaching and is also known to be a low maintenance grass. This herbaceous grass when compared to switchgrass seems to have deep established roots like the switchgrass and also requires less fertilization.
What is tall fescue grass? According to research, the fescue grass due to its deep established roots, is said to be efficient in terms of sucking out nutrients from the soil, and as a result of this, requires less application of fertilizer, which in turn makes it an ideal choice for homeowners today than other cool-season grasses.
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Pros and Cons of Tall Fescue Grass

(1) This herbaceous monocot requires little winter maintenance.
(2) This grass is likely to get affected to brown patches, during humid months or hot seasons.
(3) This perennial grass is capable of withstanding heavy wear and tear.
(4) Another problem with this grass is it requires over-seeding during the summer months.
(5) It doesn’t require extensive detaching.
Other Fescue Grass Species
Now, we can not talk about the best tall fescue grass seed or grass without discussing other species of the Festuca (fescue) grass with the inclusion of tall fescue grass;
1. Creeping Red Fescue Grass
One important benefit of this grass is that most people add it to other grass seeds just to enhance and promote shade tolerance and can reduce the application of fertilizer.
2. Hard Fescue Grass
This species of fescue grass is mostly used on golf course and also used in grass blends to increase fertility.
3. Sheep Fescue Grass
When compared to the tall fescue grass, they improve soil conditions and it does well in a variety of climates.
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Guide to Growing Your Fescue Grass (Festuca arundinacea)

One interesting benefit of growing this grass on your lawn is that it doesn’t require heavy maintenance, however, there are a few tips and guides you will need to know to grow a healthy full fescue lawn, below are a series of tips;
(1) Fescue grass needs a few weeks to mature before being mowed. Mowing of your fescue grass is very essential in the growth process, as it allows the fescue clumps to spread among your yard and enhance thick and full yard
(2) Ensure you regularly weed your lawn to ensure the healthy growth of the grass.
(3) Make sure you properly water your fescue grass, however, each fescue grass has its unique nature, and therefore it is advised that you keep an eye on it and ensure it receives proper watering.
Although this grass is drought tolerant, it requires extra water during the summer months.
(4) One important thing to take note of when growing this grass is that of aerating it, you should also fertilize your lawn after aeration to allow the nutrients of the fertilizer to penetrate the roots of the grass.
Facts About Tall Fescue Grass
(1) This grass is known for its ability to grow on poor soils, but not on shallow soil or rocks.
(2) When compared to Bermuda grass, this grass tends to use more water during summer.
(3) The average amount of fertilizer that should be applied in the growing of this grass is 1.0lb.
(4) This grass during the summer months tend to be slow to regrow when damaged.
(5) Fescue grass is a specialty grass in the desert.
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Benefits of Tall Fescue Grass
(1) The fescue grass is widely used by farmers into cattle husbandry as a reliable pasture and also as hay grass for feeding their grazing animals.
(2) It is used in controlling erosion.
(3) It is an ornamental plant, therefore, it is mainly used as ornamental grass in gardens.
Common Names of Tall Fescue Grass
This fescue grass has some popular common names like;
- Reed Fescue
- Alta Fescue
- Coarse Fescue
- Tall Fescue
- Kentucky Fescue
- Tall Meadow Fescue
- New Zealand Tall Fescue.
In conclusion, this grass is also known scientifically as Festuca arundinacea, it is a cool-season perennial grass belonging to the Poaceae family of grasses. It is an important forage grass that is widely used in the control of erosion and as an ornamental plant.
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