How to Grow Tall Fescue

Where tall fescue fits

Tall fescue is the cool-season grass for places where summers are too hot for Kentucky bluegrass but winters are too cold for a reliable warm-season lawn. University of Kentucky specialists rate it the best-adapted lawn grass in Kentucky, with good heat and cold tolerance. Maryland says most lawns there are mainly tall fescue, and K-State calls it a popular choice in Kansas. UC IPM calls it the most common lawn grass in California, though it is not well suited to high elevations.

Its southern edge comes quickly. In South Carolina, Clemson places it in the mountains and upper piedmont, as far east as Columbia, and says it will not grow along the coast. Alabama calls the north of the state the southern limit of its range. In Texas, Texas A&M limits it to North Texas. Near that edge, expect some summer thinning even in a normal year.

Alabama and Clemson give a soil pH of 5.5 to 6.5 as best, but it adapts to a wide range of soils.

Turf-type tall fescue versus Kentucky-31

Kentucky-31 (K-31) is the old forage cultivar still seen in pastures and along roadsides. Turf-type tall fescues have narrower blades, lower growth, darker color, more density and more shade tolerance (Clemson, Alabama). Kentucky Extension calls choosing a turf type over K-31 “paramount,” and Nebraska advises against buying K-31 for lawns. Alabama notes that single varieties are rarely sold; tall fescue comes as blends, and the varieties in a brand can change from year to year. For the Southeast, Alabama lists Firenza II, Bonfire, Zion, Avenger III, Symphony, Degas and Xanadu among varieties that did well in regional trials.

Seed or sod

Most tall fescue lawns are seeded, because it sprouts and establishes quickly. Sod is available too. Penn State notes that sod growers usually add some Kentucky bluegrass to tall fescue sod, because tall fescue alone does not knit together well.

When to seed tall fescue

Early fall is the time. The dates for your zone above run from about six weeks to four weeks before your average first fall frost. Within that window, earlier is safer. Local guidance: September in Kansas, mid-August to late September in Kentucky, mid-to-late September in South Carolina, and September-October in north Alabama. Nebraska sets a firm cutoff of mid-September because tall fescue seedlings take longer to develop cold hardiness. K-State explains both risks: seed too early and heat stress and disease follow; seed too late and winter cold can injure the seedlings.

Spring seeding is a riskier second choice. K-State suggests March or April so the grass is established before hot weather, but seed sprouts slowly in cold soil and weeds compete harder. Alabama warns that spring seedings take a lot of water and raise the risk of seedling disease. K-State says siduron and mesotrione are the only crabgrass preventers safe to apply at seeding, and even they reduce establishment slightly.

Seeding rate

Sow 6-8 lb per 1,000 sq ft (K-State, Penn State, Maryland, Nebraska). Alabama gives 5-8 lb and UC IPM 8-10 lb, while Kentucky gives 6 lb of pure live seed. Tall fescue needs far more seed than bluegrass because its seeds are much larger. Getting the rate right matters. K-State says too light a rate gives a thin, clumpy, weedy stand, and too heavy a rate leads to crowding, poor rooting and disease that can eventually kill the turf.

To thicken a thinning lawn, Alabama multiplies the share of lawn lost by the full rate: if half the lawn is gone, sow half the normal rate. Clemson overseeds thin areas in September and early October at 6 lb of a tall fescue blend.

Watering new seed

Keep the surface moist until seedlings emerge, usually with light watering one to three times a day (Alabama). Then water less often but more deeply. Alabama calls surface drying a major cause of seedling failure, but too much surface water causes damping-off, a seedling disease, and fast watering washes seed away.

Mowing, watering and feeding

Clemson mows at 3 inches and raises the mower to 3.5 inches for summer. Alabama raises it half an inch in hot weather and holds it at 3 inches. UC IPM gives a wider 1.5-3 inches and warns that cutting below 1.5 inches thins the stand. K-State says that mowing too low or too seldom causes many tall fescue problems. Keep the blade sharp and remove no more than one-third of the leaf at once.

Its deep roots make it more drought tolerant than other cool-season grasses in the South (Alabama). To keep it green in summer, give it about 1-1.5 inches of water a week in one or two waterings (K-State, Alabama). Signs of thirst are a bluish-gray color, footprints that linger, and folded leaves. K-State advises against watering in spring unless the grass wilts, because spring watering reduces summer drought resistance and encourages disease and weeds. If you let the lawn go dormant in summer, Clemson suggests about ½ inch of water every three weeks to keep the crowns alive.

Fertilize mainly in fall. K-State calls September and November the key months; if you feed only once, do it in September. Avoid March and early April feeding, which pushes growth and encourages disease and weeds. Clemson says not to fertilize tall fescue after March 15 in South Carolina. Alabama suggests 2-4 lb of nitrogen per 1,000 sq ft a year, mostly in fall.

Shade and traffic

Turf-type tall fescue is one of the better choices for partial shade, though Clemson notes that lawn grasses need at least four hours of direct sun. It handles moderate wear better than other cool-season grasses in the South, according to Alabama, but nowhere near as well as bermudagrass or zoysiagrass. Texas A&M does not consider it suited to heavily trafficked areas.

Common problems

• Brown patch. Clemson calls it the most widespread tall fescue disease, most common from June through August, and Alabama the most destructive. Alabama says excess nitrogen, poor drainage and waterlogged soil encourage disease.
• Summer thinning. Heat and drought thin stands near the southern edge of the range; reseed in fall.
• Clumpy, open turf. This comes from seeding too lightly, from K-31 seed, or from the grass’s bunch habit. Reseed with a turf-type blend.
• Damping-off. This seedling disease comes from keeping the surface too wet during establishment.
• Winter injury of late seedlings. Fescue sown after the fall window may not survive its first winter.
• White grubs. Clemson suggests checking for them from August through October.