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Fine fescue
Festuca rubra and relatives
The shade grass. Needle-thin blades, tolerates dry shade under maples and oaks where nothing else survives, and needs the least mowing and feeding of all.
Mow at
3 to 4 in
Water
0.75 in
per week, in one or two deep soakings
Light
Shade to partial sun
How to tell
- •Very fine, almost hair-like blades
- •Blades are folded or rolled, not flat
- •Soft, slightly wispy texture
- •Often the green patches under trees
In the collar counties
If the shady side of your yard is the only green part in July, it is probably fine fescue.
Overseed with
A shade mix of creeping red, chewings, and hard fescue
Strengths
- Only real option for dry shade
- Very low fertilizer need
- Can be left unmown as a meadow look
Weaknesses
- Hates heat, traffic, and wet soil
- Thins out in full sun
- Not a striping grass