Fine fescues include multiple species: creeping red fescue; slender creeping red fescue; Chewings fescue; sheep fescue; and hard fescue. In our state, they have traditionally been used in seed mixtures targeted at shady sites. In general, fine fescues perform fairly well in shade. Decline of fine fescues has been observed in Kansas during midsummer under wet conditions.
The 2020 NTEP Fine Fescue trial was planted in September at the Olathe Horticulture Research Center in full sun. It is a low-maintenance trial: no irrigation has been applied (other than during establishment) and the area only received starter fertilizer at the time of establishment. Many of these species and cultivars look very good in mid-July 2021. We will continue to evaluate their performance over the coming years. It’s quite possible that some of the fine fescues could provide an acceptable quality lawn with relatively low input.
Dr. Ross Braun is a former K-Stater (M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in turf at K-State) is now a lead research scholar at Purdue University, and is working diligently with these species. The Purdue research team is working with that at the Univ. of Minnesota on fine fescues (low-input turf). To learn more about fine fescues, development of new cultivars, and management, check out the article and video below by Ross and explore the web site on which these are posted.
https://lowinputturf.umn.edu/news/what-are-fine-fescues
https://lowinputturf.umn.edu/news/what-are-fine-fescues
