Carried by 32 nurseries
View Availability at NurseryData provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria
View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora
Red Fescue (Festuca rubra) is one of many species of Festuca native to California. It is a cool-season species of bunch grass (summer dormant) that is found worldwide and can tolerate many habitats and climates.
It is a nutritious and palatable forage grass for domestic and wild animals. It is used as a mow-able turfgrass and as a groundcover and can be left completely unmowed for a lush prairie-like look. It spreads by rhizomes. There are three recognized subspecies, and many cultivars have been bred.
Grass
1 - 3 ft Tall
Upright, Fountain
Fast, Moderate
Yellow
Spring
Bank stabilization, Containers, Deer resistant, Groundcover, Lawn alternative
Partial Shade, Full Sun
High, Low, Moderate
Max 1x / month once established
Tolerates cold to -10° F
Medium
Tolerates many soil types.
Soil PH: 5.6 - 6.9
Does not need to be cut back but can be cut back in summer if desired
For propagating by seed: No treatment, except that freshly harvested seeds need 5 days stratification (Association of Official Seed Analysts 1981); or 1 to 2 months' dry storage for 1 to 2 months before sowing (Crocker and Barton 1957).
1, 2, 3, 4*, 5*, 6*, 7*, 8, 9, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*
Dunes, meadows, openings in woodland or chaparral
Chaparral, Foothill Woodland, Lodgepole Forest, Red Fir Forest, Subalpine Forest, Valley Grassland, Yellow Pine Forest, Wetland-Riparian
It can be used with a wide variety of native plants in a meadow-like garden or as an accent among shrubs and subshrubs.
Butterflies and moths supported
3 confirmed and 9 likely
Sachem
Atalopedes campestris
Umber Skipper
Poanes melane
Mardon Skipper
Polites mardon
Snowy-veined Apamea Moth
Apamea niveivenosa