Tall Fescue
Festuca arundinacea (syn. Schedonorus arundinaceus) · Cool-season, Perennial, C3
Grass Family
Poaceae, subfamily Pooideae, tribe Poeae
Grass Category
Lawn, Pasture, and Erosion Control
Variety / Cultivar
Unknown wild-type or older forage variety
Hardiness Zones
USDA Zones 4-7; exceptional heat tolerance for a cool-season grass, stays green in mild winters
About This Grass
A coarse-textured, deep-rooted grass that forms dense clumps. In mowed settings, it appears as dark green, upright blades. When unmowed, it reaches 2-4 feet with open panicle seed heads.
Blade Characteristics
Coarse (4-10mm width), prominent veins on top surface, glossy underside, pointed tips, rolled vernation, and short, blunt, or absent auricles
Root System
Deep fibrous root system (up to 2-3 feet depth), slow thatch builder, very stable but slow to recover from surface wear compared to spreading grasses
Growing Information
Origin Region
Europe and North Africa; widely naturalized across North America, particularly the U.S. Transition Zone
Growth Habit
Bunch-type (clumping), though some modern cultivars exhibit short rhizomes
Sunlight & Water Needs
Full sun to partial shade (4-6 hours min), high water needs during establishment but excellent drought tolerance once mature due to root depth
Mowing & Maintenance
Recommended 3.0 to 4.0 inches height, medium maintenance, needs annual overseeding due to bunch-type habit, 2-4 lbs Nitrogen per 1000 sq ft per year
Special Characteristics
High shade tolerance compared to other cool-season grasses, excellent wear resistance but poor recovery speed, susceptible to Brown Patch fungus in high humidity
Ecological Information
Introduced/Naturalized in North America; provides soil stabilization on slopes; often contains endophytes that protect the plant from pests but can be toxic to some livestock if not endophyte-free.