What does fescue look like?

Asked by: Miguel Goodall

Tall fescue is medium- to dark-green in color and coarse textured. It is a bunch-type grass and forms a coarse, clumpy appearance when used alone. The new, improved turf-type varieties have finer leaf texture, denser growth habit, and possess weak rhizomes (Photos 1 & 2).

Is there a difference between fescue and tall fescue?

Fescue is divided into broad-leaved and fine-leaved classes. Tall fescue is a broad-leaved fescue with wide, flat blades typical of lawn grasses. Fine fescue is the collective term for all fine-leaved fescue grasses. Fine fescue has thinner blades than tall fescue, with some fine fescues having needle-type blades.

Is my grass fescue or Bermuda?

Tall fescue is also dark green in color but can grow to about three to four feet if left unattended. Compared to blades of bermudagrass, tall fescue can be identified by its wide leaf blades that have equal-sized veins running parallel on the leaf. It has no prominent central vein, also known as a midrib.

Where does fescue grass grow best?

In the United States, tall fescue is found from the Pacific Northwest to the southern states in low-lying pastures. Although it grows best in moist environments, tall fescue has good drought tolerance and will survive during dry periods in a dormant state.

How do I know if I have tall fescue?

Tall fescue can be identified by its wide leaf blades that have equal-sized veins. It has no prominent midrib. When left unmowed it forms a panicle style seed head containing six to eight seeds. Tall fescue should not be blended with any other grass species.

Is fescue a good lawn grass?

In its preferred growing zones, tall fescue provides lawn owners with outstanding options for improving lawn resilience and durability. Depending on where you live and your lawn goals, this versatile grass may be an excellent choice for you.

Is fescue a creeping grass?

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 Bent grass.

How can you tell what type of grass you have?

Grass types vary in the width of their blades and whether blade tips are sharp-pointed, rounded or boat-shaped. The arrangement of grass leaves in new shoots, called vernation, may be V-shaped and folded or circular and rolled. Your grass’s growth habit also provides grass I.D. clues.

Do I have fescue or zoysia?

Physical Characteristics. Tall fescue has a medium-coarse texture, while zoysiagrass has a medium-fine texture and a dense growth pattern. Some fescues, such as fineleaf red fescues, have a fine texture. Both grasses have a medium-dark green color, although zoysia sometimes turns brown during the winter.

Is it OK to mix Bermuda and fescue?

To mix bermudagrass with fescue, it’s best to overseed the bermudagrass, hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 7 through 10, with a fine fescue blend, hardy in USDA zones 3 through 7.

How can you tell tall fescue from crabgrass?

Here is the biggest difference between fescue and crabgrass: check the color and size.

1. Tall fescue grass is mostly very thick and grows very fast in big bunches in the yard.
2. Crabgrass is usually light green and can be found on the edges of the lawn or in very thin parts of the lawn.

How do you tell the difference between fescue and bluegrass?

Both tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass have dark green blades but while tall fescue has thin, coarse, broad blades, the blades of Kentucky bluegrass are thin and relatively fine. Many people would describe the touch of a tall fescue lawn as “rough” or scratchy” while a Kentucky bluegrass lawn is undeniably soft.

Will tall fescue choke out weeds?

Fescues are cool-season grasses, which means they tolerate cold winters, but may suffer during hot, dry summers. Fescues have a bunching growth habit, which makes it difficult for them to fill in and choke out weeds.

Does fescue spread on its own?

Tall fescue doesn’t spread, as it’s a clump-forming turfgrass type. Only grasses that have stolons (above-ground offshoots) and rhizomes (under-ground) offshoots can spread laterally and fill in all the bare spots on lawns without the need for reseeding.

Does tall fescue come back every year?

About Fescue Grass Lawns



Under the right conditions, fescue is green year-round, but it can go dormant (brown) during severe heat and drought.

How do I get rid of fescue in my lawn?

If Tall Fescue has appeared on your lawn, we recommend a post-emergent spot treatment with Eraser 41% Glyphosate. This is a non-selective herbicide that kills any plant it touches so be careful not to get it on desired grass. In heavy infestations of Tall Fescue, it’d be best to spray your lawn and then reseed.

What are the thick clumps of grass in my lawn?

Many bunch-type grass weeds, such as crabgrass, can show up as thick clumps. Crabgrass is yellowish-green and usually shows up in mid-summer, especially along driveways, curbs and sidewalks where soil is warmer and drier. Undesirable lawn grasses and grassy weeds can be dug out and removed by hand, if practical.

Can I dig out tall fescue?

Can I remove the clumps? You can dig out the clumps, but ensure that all tall fescue roots are removed. Then re-seed or re-sod after removal.

What is the tall grass growing in my lawn?

Tall fescue is a thick bladed fast growing and uncontrollable perennial grass that usually grows in clumps in the middle of a lawn. Tall fescue is NOT controllable without killing the desirable grasses surrounding the tall fescue.

Is there a grass that looks like crabgrass?

See Quackgrass below. If you see something that looks like Crabgrass in the early Spring in the Midwest, you can be almost 100% sure that it isn’t true Crabgrass. Old Fashioned Tall Fescue is another grass that commonly is confused with Crabgrass.

What does nutsedge look like in a lawn?

Identifying Nutsedge in Your Lawn



The bright yellow-green leaves of yellow nutsedge stand out clearly against turf, as do the dark green leaves of its purple relative. Left to grow tall, nutsedges produce distinctive spiky flower clusters: yellow-brown for yellow nutsedge and purple-brown for purple nutsedge.

What looks like grass but has bulb?

Several grass-like plants have bulbous roots and are often mistaken as grasses. Wild garlic and nutsedge are common grass-like plants with bulbs, but reside in different plant families. Onion grass and bulbous bluegrass are true grasses that have bulb-like structures underground.

Why do I have wild onions in my yard?

Wild garlic and onion thrive in a variety of soil conditions, including heavy and wet soil, and are both cold- and drought-hardy. Wild onion and wild garlic are easily recognized in the lawn by the strong garlic or onion odor they produce when mowed.

What plant smells like onions?

The Allium species smell like onions or garlic—the crow poison smells musky. Also, crow poison has cream-colored flowers and the Allium has white, pink or lavender colored flowers.

What grass grows from bulbs?

Onion grass

Onion grass is a cool season perennial weed that grows from a root bulb in late fall or early spring and has long waxy leaves. Root bulb weeds are difficult to control because they spread rapidly and sprout new growth each year from their bulbs.

What are the weeds that smell like onions?

A: Two common weeds are wild onion and wild garlic. They are perennial, both spread by seed, bulb and bulblet. Both are edible but resemble other plants that are not. To some, wild garlic smells like onion and wild onion smells like garlic.

Why does my cut grass smell like onions?

Wild onion is the cousin to the garden variety that you use in your kitchen and grows in patches. Its leaves, being the part that you see, look similar to green onion that is sold in store and have an onion-like odor when crushed or torn. How did THAT get into my lawn? – Wild Onion can be a tough weed to control.