The All-Around Turfgrass

Tall fescues have inherent shade, drought, heat, cold and wear tolerance. They are also deep-rooted. Turfgrass professionals such as sod pro-ducers, parks and athletic field managers and golf course superintendents have long favored tall fescue’s naturally beneficial characteristics. Tall fescue characteristics include wear tolerance on playgrounds, athletic fields, golf course roughs and horseracing tracks; heat and drought tolerance forareas along paved highways and bunkerfaces on golf courses, plus shade tolerance for parks and industrial campuses.

With great improvements in color, disease resistance, slower growth rate, andlower mowing heights, tall fescues are found in more and more high profile landscapes. You’d think tall fescue was a totally new concept with the raves it gets, when, in fact, it’s been around doing what it does for years.

Tall fescues must remain dense to keep blades thin. Proper mowing and fertilizing practices help keep blades thin; overseeding every other year may be necessary to improve the stand.

A coarse-textured medium to dark-green grass. Leaves are rolled in the bud. It has short, rounded auricles, a short membranous ligule, and an extensive root system. Because tall fescue has a bunch-type growth habit rather than a creeping-type, open areas may develop and need to be reseeded.

September and October are generally the best time to plant tall fescue. Earlier seeding tends to undergo excessive heat stress and seedling diseases, and later planting may not be fully established prior to winter. Depending on the area, seeding in December and early spring is generally not recommended because the plant does not have time to develop the deep root system needed to survive the hot summer.