If you're planning to build a new lawn or renovate an old one and have chosen tall fescue as your grass type, you are sure to have a bright and gorgeous lawn.
Tall fescue turf grass can tolerate a wide range of temperatures and is resistant to heat, cold, shadow, and drought. Tall fescue grass seed can help lawn lovers increase the endurance and robustness of their lawns.
But the key question is when to plant Tall Fescue Grass Seed to ensure a flawless bloom?
It is a popular assumption that fescue grass cannot be planted in the summer. Several landscapers, as well as lawn care professionals, are reluctant to plant fescue during the summer season. So, when is the best time to plant Tall Fescue Grass Seed? That question will be addressed in this article.
If you're planning to build a new lawn or renovate an old one and have chosen tall fescue as your grass type, you are sure to have a bright and gorgeous lawn.
Tall fescue turf grass can tolerate a wide range of temperatures and is resistant to heat, cold, shadow, and drought. Tall fescue grass seed can help lawn lovers increase the endurance and robustness of their lawns.
But the key question is when to plant Tall Fescue Grass Seed to ensure a flawless bloom?
It is a popular assumption that fescue grass cannot be planted in the summer. Several landscapers, as well as lawn care professionals, are reluctant to plant fescue during the summer season.
So, when is the best time to plant Tall Fescue Grass Seed? That question will be addressed in this article.
What is Fescue Grass Seed?
Fescue seems to be a cool-season grass that tolerates heat, chill, and dryness. The grass is a common choice for residents of the northern regions, but it is also well-suited for places that receive both cool and warm weather.
Tall fescue is a convenient and manageable grass with a distinctive bunch-forming growth habit that requires little to no dethatching. Because fescue's underlying foundations are excellent at collecting nutrients from the soil, the grass often requires less fertilizer than most other cool-season grasses.
Characteristics of tall Fescue
With the exception of fine fescues, tall fescue withstands shade better than any other prevalent cool-season lawn grasses. It grows swiftly from seed and germinates faster than Kentucky Bluegrass.
Tall fescue's root system is larger than average, reaching 2 to 3 feet deep, significantly deeper than most cool-season grasses. This contributes to the plant's high heat and drought resistance. Tall fescue can be described as a bunch-type grass, as opposed to grasses that grow horizontally above- and below-ground stems.
It grows in bunches and spreads mostly through upright shoots called "tillers" that sprout from the grass plant's foundation. Tall fescue's growing style makes it easy to confine and manage out of flower beds, but it also inhibits its ability to heal on its own when grass damage occurs.
The best time to plant fescue grass
Fescue grass is best planted in the spring and fall. If you're going to plant seeds, fall is the greatest time of year. Meanwhile, if you are placing Tall Fescue sod, then you actually have a little more wiggle room in terms of timing.
The most popular approach is to plant Tall Fescue sod in the fall and spring. If you sod in the spring, make sure that there's no possibility of frost damage to small seedlings, including grass, and that there are moderate temperatures, plenty of sunshine, and spring showers. The roots of the sod have the opportunity to penetrate deeper into the earth before temperatures become too chilly in the early fall, that is before the frost comes in and temperatures remain reasonable.
Fall Planting of tall Fescue
Tall fescue seed should be planted from late summer to early fall. The fall season provides various advantages not accessible during other times of the year. Even when air temperatures fall in autumn, the soil preserves some of the summer warmth. Cool nights, temperate days, and warm soil are optimal conditions for tall fescue seed germination as well as the establishment. Fall planting has many other advantages.
Autumn rains usually arrive around the time that optimal air and soil conditions converge. Tall fescue seed requires constant moisture throughout germination, which is met by light fall rainfall. Unlike in the spring, when soil frequently becomes too wet, soil in the fall seems to be more capable of retaining healthy moisture levels. As temperatures drop, many aggressive lawn weeds become dormant, giving way to young grass.
Insect pests also tend to become less active, so giving you fewer pest problems in the fall. The best time to seed turf-type tall fescues would be in the fall. Tall fescue should be planted at least 45 days prior to your region's average first fall frost time. This enables the 7- to 21-day germination period for turf-type tall fescue, as well as appropriate root establishment before winter arrives. However, you have to be cautious so as to not plant it too late as,
Planting late will result in reduced germination rates and less resilient root establishment.
Ungerminated seeds, on the other hand, may survive the winter and germinate again in the spring.
Early fall planting provides seeds with a complete fall growing season. Then comes another phase of cool-season bloom before summer stress. Seeding using high-performance seeds provides even more resistance to heat and drought. The turf-type tall fescues develop more roots at deeper depths than standard grass seeds, providing increased drought and salinity tolerance along with enhanced nutritional uptake.
Spring planting of tall Fescue
Spring is the second-best time to plant tall fescue seeds because post-winter soil, as well as air temperatures, as well as air temperatures, are warm. Much like with fall planting, schedule spring planting to correspond with soil temperatures of 60 degrees Fahrenheit or above and steady air temperatures of 68 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit. 2
The best time to plant in the spring varies depending on where you live. Ideal conditions for transition zone lawns might arrive around March. Further north, suitable weather may not arrive until April or perhaps early May. The topography provides timing cues throughout much of tall fescue's growing region. When soil temperatures hit 55 degrees Fahrenheit, yellow forsythia shrubs blossom. Use a soil thermometer to verify soil temperature and schedule tall fescue seeding correspondingly.
While spring provides favorable conditions for tall fescue planting, it also presents some problems. Heavy rains, as well as melting snow or ice, have the chance to keep soil cold for long periods of time, slowing germination and giving resilient weeds an advantage. Cool, damp soil also promotes the formation of fungal infections, which can harm germination, seedling proliferation, and existing lawns.
Tall fescue has less time to set itself up in the spring before summer heat substitutes ideal growing conditions. As a consequence, seeds sown in the spring might suffer more than seeds placed in the fall. Tall fescue cultivars with higher heat and drought resistance can boost your lawn's endurance to southern summers in demanding southern settings.
Tips for maintenance of Fescue grass-
If low-maintenance cool-season grass interests you, then fescue is the way to go. It is not a thirsty grass, and because it is grown in locations that are somewhat less hot and more susceptible to regular rain, it can normally survive fairly well without any need for irrigation. Fescue roots are exceptionally deep, typically reaching depths of 6 feet or more, which means they have significantly better exposure to underground water than other shallow-rooted grass species. The only time you should water your fescue grass is during a prolonged dry spell. In addition to drought tolerance, fescue's overall hardiness is nearly unrivaled.
Its capacity to resist dry spells makes it a good option for the chilly yet dry areas of the globe, while its capacity to endure stiff frosts makes it the perfect choice for fresh and cool areas.
When contrasted with other grass varieties, fescue will require you to roll out the mower less frequently. Since fescue grass doesn't grow quickly, you won't have to chop it back every weekend. When trimming, try to keep it somewhat high, as mowing any lower might expose the sod and thus dry it off. This may cause bare spots to appear on your lawn.
Surprisingly, while the existing grass does not grow quickly, fescue germinates quickly. The new blades will usually appear just under two weeks after sowing, which means you'll be likely to appreciate your lawn fairly quickly.
Another feature of fescue's resilience is that it tolerates poor soil well, happily flourishing in an average bed. Just like with any grass, giving it an optimum environment of nitrogen-rich and fertilized soil with a neutral pH will clearly make it look its best, although it's not a necessary part of your lawn care regimen.
Conclusion-
Planting the tall fescue at the right time will give your field the finest start possible, but timing is also not the only key to seeding success. You should also do research about recommended methods for sowing grass seed, from seed selection to soil assessment to sprouting and even beyond. One tip is that Maintain your new tall fescue at suggested mowing heights of 3 to 4 inches to maintain your grass as well as keep the soil healthy and ready for aggressive grass growth.