Festuca rubra: Everything about the red fescue

The red fescue (Festuca rubra) is a common ingredient in lawn seed mixes for the garden. But what are the properties of the grass and how is it used in the lawn?

No lawn grass is so fine-leaved and can grow as dense and carpet-like as Festuca rubra. On the one hand, this makes the red fescue an important refiner of ornamental lawns, on the other hand, it is common to use it on golf courses when the ball needs to roll particularly well. Because red fescue visually enhances the lawn in the home garden and also has extremely low demands on soil and climate, it is made for many members of ours Plantura Premium Lawn Family.

Festuca rubra: Origin and description

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German ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and the Meadow panicle (Poa pratensis) the red fescue belongs to the sweet grasses (Poaceae). There are various subspecies of in the temperate climates of Europe, Asia, America and Africa Festuca rubra. Some of them tend to grow in clumps, others in turn to areal growth through subterranean runners. Common red fescue also grows well on poorer, drier soils and can withstand severe winters and heavy, frequent browsing by herbivores without any problems. The narrow leaves are gray-green and hairless. Festuca rubra is perennial and grows up to a height of 20 to 80 centimeters every year on the natural site. In high to late summer, the red fescue forms seeds on double-ended inflorescences.

tip: Festuca rubra is hardy and can be pruned deep regularly. Because of these good qualities, it is in ours Plantura lawn repair & Shadow lawn as well as the Plantura sports and play lawn to be found in clever combinations of different subspecies.

Properties and use of the red fescue

The subspecies of the red fescue can sometimes differ markedly from one another. For a general overview, we have summarized common properties of the species for you at a glance.

What are the properties of Festuca rubra?

In the following overview we have summarized what makes the red fescue so special:

The red fescue in brief

characteristics	The leaves are gray-green and fine; Depending on the subspecies, from dense leaves through growth in clumps to regenerative through subterranean runners
Expectations	Low demands on climate, soil and nutrient supply, wide tolerance range
Durability	Medium, varies depending on the subspecies
use	Sports and play lawns, Lawn repair and Shadow lawn, also in deep cut lawns and ornamental lawns
Germination time and development	Relatively quick germination and initial development, good weed displacement
Minimum cutting height	Depending on the variety, 6 to 20 mm; suitable for regular deep cuts
particularities	The finest, most precious leaf of all lawn grasses

Festuca rubra can display very different properties depending on the subspecies considered. Horst-like growing subspecies such as Festuca rubra ssp. commutata form a dense, carpet-like scar, but damage in the lawn cannot regenerate via runners. Shoot subspecies such as Festuca rubra ssp. rubra on the other hand, they often have a loose scar, but are able to quickly close holes in the lawn.

By the way: The growth behavior of the different subspecies of the red fescue is so different that they complement each other perfectly. Because of this, our Plantura shadow lawn and also the Plantura sports and play lawn Varieties of both groups: This ensures a fine, dense look and good regenerative capacity. By adding the subspecies Festuca rubra ssp. trichophylla Our mixes also become more tolerant of drought, waterlogging, shade and even salt that winters through grit can get onto the lawn.

How is Festuca rubra used?

Due to its broad location tolerance, the red fescue is a popular all-rounder in all lawn-seed mixtures that are intended for lawns with low to medium pollution. In Shadow lawn its shadow tolerance is exploited, in Sports and play lawns and Lawn repair the good regenerative capacity of the stolon species. The extremely fine leaf is particularly valued on representative ornamental lawns and golf turfs because of its elegant appearance and the dense carpet formation. Grazing animals strangely disdain the grass, which is why it is unsuitable as fodder grass.

Different varieties of Festuca rubra

The targeted breeding of the red fescue strives to deepen the good characteristics of the respective subspecies and to weaken negative characteristics. To give you an overview, you will find an example here from the different growth groups of the red fescue.

Festuca rubra ‘Barlineus’ (clump-forming red fescue):
Growing slowly; nice and green even in winter; very fine leaf; very dense sward; good competitiveness against weeds; medium durability; best suited for Play and sports turf as well as ornamental lawns

Festuca rubra ‘Spice’ (runners-forming red fescue):
Medium fast growing; not always green in winter; fine leaves and moderately dense stigma; good weed control and medium durability; good suitability for lower polluted sports and play lawns: Positive because of the ability to regenerate damage

Festuca rubra ‘Viktorka’ (red fescue with short runners):
Rather slowly growing; relatively green in winter; extremely fine leaves and extremely dense sward; good competitiveness against weeds; low durability; good suitability for Sports and play lawns and ornamental lawns

High-quality lawn seed mixtures make use of the contrary properties of the various red fescue groups, so that a dense lawn that is easy to regenerate is created. This is exactly the same tactic that ours pursue Plantura sports and play lawn and the Plantura shadow lawn, which creates the particularly high premium quality of the lawn. In grass pavement like ours Plantura lawn repair become runners, for example, together with the runners too German ryegrass (Lolium perenne ‘Corsica’ or ‘New Orleans’) are used so that holes in the lawn are quickly covered before they become Weeds in the lawn to settle.