The Tall fescue species is a coarser bladed, dense clumping grass that grows well in shady areas and is mixed in with other grasses such as bluegrass for this quality. Tall fescue was one of the first grasses brought to the US in the early 1800’s for pasturage purposes and now grows in about 4/5 of the United States and into Canada. 

The early European settlers knew how well it grew in their native meadows in adverse weather and  variety of soil conditions in their native countries. The fact that tall fescue can remain green all year makes it more acceptable as a lawn grass as well as the original pasturage that fescue produces. Tall fescue has a dense root system and therefore a great tolerance to drought conditions plus being a cool season grass  able to go into the dormant stage under dry conditions.

Tall fescue varieties are coarser textured grasses that wear well. They grow best in heavier soils with a lot of organic matter. This grass is more shade tolerant than most of the cool season grasses of the north, grows well in the transition areas where cool season grasses won’t take the warmer climate and in the upper areas where the warm season grasses won’t tolerate the cooler weather. Tall fescues are used extensively in transition areas for the sowing of lawns, athletic fields such as baseball fields, play fields, polo fields,  in commercial sites like hospitals, or any place a good, dense utility lawn is desired. 

When planted in areas North of the transition zone, tall fescue can experience more problems including winter kill. When tall fescue is grown South of the transition zone Bermuda grass can effectively choke the fescue out. Tall fescue grows best when established as the dominate grass with  70% or more of a lawn stand. As with many species that have so many varieties to choose from; usually two varieties of tall are used in many of the shadier mixes with lesser amounts of bluegrass, perennial rye grass, annual rye grass and red fescues. The mix is chosen for the independent characteristics that will be used together for shade, sun, toughness of turf and texture finish.

KENTUCKY- 31 VARIETY: This variety is a well-known and familiar strain and has been growing in the US for a very long time. Originally used as a pasture grass, Kentucky - 31 is now used in lawns, athletic fields and erosion control sites in addition to fine pasturage.  Newer varieties have been developed of Kentucky tall fescue with finer leaf textures and better disease resistance. - Now-days, generally K31 is used only for low quality turf areas (roadsides, large areas, hillsides, etc)... but thousands of lawns still use this durable grass.  

BUY Kentucky 31 Tall Fescue from Seedland.com

It is now known that Kentucky 31 Tall Fescue has toxins produced by Endophyte fungus that can affect seriously the health of animals that graze on this grass.  Especially horses, but also other farm animals.  Visit our pasture page for information on Endophyte Free varieties.

PENN FESCUE PLUS®  & PALMERS SHADY LAWN

TURF TYPE TALL FESCUE represents one of the newest blends that have been targeted to use less water and require less mowing thus reducing the amount of clippings gathered by the homeowner which in turn puts more plastic in landfills. Varieties in this blend have also been chosen with improved disease and insect resistance with added turf density which can help cut down on the amount of chemicals usually required. Lawns do more than cover "dirt", they contribute to the replacement of much of the oxygen while helping to reduce carbon monoxide levels in crowded suburbs and cities.  More about Fescue PLUS Fescue AND the Shade Tolerant Shady Lawn Mix

Other Pennington varieties include Duster, Virtue, Penn 1901, Triad, REBEL products including Rebel IV, Rebel Exeda, Palmer's Pride Tall Fescues & Lawn mixtures, Signia, Forte, and many others... -- Some of these varieties may be available at Seedland.

Fine fescues are cool season grasses that include the varieties of chewings fescue, red fescue, and hard fescue. These fescues may not be distinguishable in looks but the genetics are more diverse than seen with the eye. These are the very fine bladed fescue grasses and are used extensively in mixtures according to the characteristics that are desired. Some are better in the shade and some are better in the sun. All of the varieties are fast germinating and easy to establish and have a degree of drought resistance. Some of the fine fescues form thatch and need to be de-thatched regularly.  Chewing, Red fescue (creeping) and sheep fescues are considered fine fescues. 

FINE FESCUE BLENDS
FOR HEAVIER SHADE CONDITIONS
Also available or some blends of chewing, hard, creeping Fescues.  A couple of the blends even include ryegrass and  Kentucky Bluegrass.

• Mid America Super Shade  -- 80% Fine Mix / 20% Bluegrass

• Bonny Dunes Blend - Mixture of All Fine Fescues (3 types)

• Dense Shade Mixture - Mix of Fines, Bluegrass & Ryegrass

More about Fine Fescues
Read about grasses for Shade

Creeping Red Fescue: (Festuca rubra)  A slow spreading grass surviving hard to cover areas, spreads by rhizomes when mown high, fine bladed and deep green with reddening at the base, beautiful when left growing for the meadow look.  Used in Northern areas including the coastal northwest, Great Lakes regions and high elevations where summers are cool. 

Also used extensively in lawn mixtures with Kentucky Bluegrass, Tall Fescue and Perennial Ryegrass for shade sites for cool season lawns. In the warmer climates of the transition zone the red fescue is overseeded onto Bermuda for the same reasons. Low growing like the Bermuda; it makes an ideal companion grass.

New varieties of Tall Fescue have been developed for forage pasture use that are Endophyte Free.  Even newer varieties such as MAX Q are being developed that are called "Endophyte friendly" for use with as a pasture for cattle and sheep.

Endophyte free varieties are bread to be either low Endophyte or Endophyte free.  For horses you should only plant Endophyte free Fescue varieties as grazing on Endophyte infected Fescues poses extreme health risks..   Many improved forage varieties are now available that improves the digestibility of this grass by cattle and other forage animals.  The development of Endophyte free varieties was a major improvement for the use of Tall Fescue for forage.

Meadow Fescue: (Festuca elatior) Meadow is similar to tall fescue.  Used as a forage mostly with little usage as a turfgrass.

Sheep Fescue: (Festuca ovina) - Sometimes used in dry, sandy highly acidic poor soils for its turf erosion control quality.  Similar in appearance to Red fescue in appearance. Read about Bighorn Sheep (Blue) Fescue characteristics.