Grasses – Blue Fescue (Festuca Glauca)
Festuca Glauca is a fabulous dwarf grass, and very popular in modern garden design, that exhibits one of the best blues of all grasses and grows in dense, rounded tussocks. It has stiff, ribbon-like leaves with flower spikes that appear in summer.
Blue fescue can be grown for foliage interest in amongst rock garden plants, as a container plant or as ground cover in the front of a well-drained border. If several plants are put close together they can be mown and used as a lawn. The plants will complement a wide variety of colours, but looks especially good with purple-leaved plants.
Like most grasses, Festuca glauca prefers full sun. If grown in the shade, it will lose its lovely blue colour and revert to green. This plant should need no watering, except when first planting out, as it can tolerate lengthy dry spells. Blue fescue should be planted out in the spring. Groups of plants should be set about 9in (23cm) apart.
This is a hardy plant and needs no protection during the winter. It is not so happy under wetter conditions and could well die out if not divided regularly or given a free draining or drier situation.
Cut back the foliage in early spring to 4in (10cm) to tidy up the plants and to encourage new leaf growth, which will be the bluest. The clumps have a tendency to die out in the centre and will need to be divided and replanted or replaced every two to three years.
Growing Requirements
Soil
Festuca glauca will grow in most types of soil, but it does best on light, sandier ones. It has a tendency to be short-lived when grown on heavier soils.
Size
Blue fescue will grow to around 10in (25cm) high and spread about 8in (20cm).
Propagation
The easiest method of propagation is by dividing well-established clumps in spring, but plants may also be grown from seed.
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Festuca
Tags: blue fescue, festuca, festuca glauca, garden plant, grasses, ornamental garden plant, Perennials
