Creeping Red Fescue Grass Seed Facts

Creeping Red Fescue Adaptation & Uses

Creeping Red Fescue grass seed is widely planted for turf grass in the transition and Northern cool season areas. Creeping Red Fescue is a fine bladed grass with medium to dark green color. It is easily established from seed and spreads with rhizomes with a "creeping" growth habit.

While it persists in cool season climates,  Creeping Red Fescue is not as cold tolerant as Kentucky Bluegrass or Creeping Bentgrass. Its major use is for dry shaded areas as either a pure stand or as a mixture in other grass seed mixtures such as Bluegrass seed, creeping bent grass seed and Perennial Ryegrass seed. Even though it is one of the best grasses for use in shade... it will tolerate full sun conditions although this could require more water. Creeping Red Fescue is used extensively in all types of turf areas including parks, roadsides, lawns, fairways, cemeteries, airfields, and other turf areas.

Creeping Red Fescue seed can also used to overseed warm-season turfs such as Bermudagrass. It grows best in well drained sites and in droughty, infertile soils. It does not tolerate wet soils or high fertilization rates, including highly fertile soils. -- Pernille, Evergreen, & Boreal are the more common varieties.

Types of Creeping Red Fescue Grass

There are two different types of creeping red fescue - Rubra rubra and Rubra trichophylla. The Rubra rubra variety is called a "strong creeping" type with 56 chromosomes compared to 42 in the other type. These varieties of creeping red fescue both spread via rhizomes(underground creeping stems) and stolons (above ground creeping stems) which allow them to spread and repair turf areas. The Rubra trichophylla variety produces shorter rhizomes that repair at a slower rate than the Rubra rubra. For the common Creeping Red we generally sell the Boreal, Evergreen, or Pernille seed varieties which are the Rubra rubra varieties.

Improved Varieties Of Creeping Red Fescue

Lustrous Creeping Red Fescue is an exceptionally shade tolerant, low growing, fine textured turf with a dark green color. New cultivars of creeping red fescue are constantly being developed with added features such as glysophate and salt tolerance. Most creeping red fescue cultivars have an attractive dark green, dense turf and a persistent growth nature due to their creeping rhizome root system.

Visit our online store Seedland.com for our entire selection of creeping red fescue seed.

Its ability to survive lower light intensities, or shade, makes Creeping Red one of the turf specialist's best tools!

Creeping Red Fescue Grass Seed Facts

Creeping Red Fescue is a economical cool season grass with a very fine texture and is the most shade tolerant fescue. Creeping Red Fescue is one of the varieties of Red Fescue, called creeping due to it's rhizomes with which this grass spreads. Creeping Red Fescue is a shade tolerant, eco-friendly grass that is easy to grow from seed. Creeping Red Fescue is easy on the environment due to low water, mowing and fertilization requirements.

Uses For Creeping Red Fescue

The major use is for creeping red fescue seed is for establishing turf in dry shaded areas as either a pure stand or as a mixture with other cool season grass such as Bluegrasses, creeping bent grasses and Perennial Ryegrasses. Creeping Red Fescue is used extensively in all types of turf areas including parks, roadsides, lawns, fairways, cemeteries, airfields, and other turf areas. Creeping Red Fescue grass will survive in areas of heavy shade (2-4 hours of daily sun) and  has a low to moderate tolerance for traffic.

Areas Of Adaptation For Creeping Red Fescue

Creeping Red Fescue, like other fine fescues, is best adapted to cool areas from the transition zone, north and in shady areas of the transition zone. Planting zones are 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 based on the USDA zone map. If planted in the southern or deep south of the USA, Creeping Red Fescue will be an annual stand not a perennial (USDA zones 8, 9, 10).

Soil, Water & Fertilizer Requirements for Red Fescue

Creeping Red Fescue performs best in well drained soils with a pH of 5.5 to 8.0. Fertilize using 1-2 lbs of nitrogen during period of active growth which are March - June and October - December. With good drought tolerance a low to moderate amount of irrigation is required. Water 1-2 times a week during the warm season as red fescue can go dormant in the summer months if watered too little. Also adjust irrigation frequency if Creeping Red Fescue is in full sunlight. Monitor the water needs of Creeping Red Fescue in shady areas as trees may soak up available water.

Establishment of Red Fescue Grass Seed

New Lawns: 3-5 lb. per 1000 sq. ft.
Overseeding: 4 lbs per 1000 sq. ft.
Planting Depth: 1/8 to 1/4" ; with germination in 7- 21 days.
Mowing Height: 3" - 4"