Festuca glauca seed

LATIN NAME: FESTUCA GLAUCA

COMMON NAME: Blue Fescue

The blue fescue bristles the low, clumping, evergreen grass with the fine, needle-like, blue-grey leaves that bristle into the neat, rounded tufts and the narrow, upright flower heads that open through the early summer, the small spikelets on the slender stems, the small grains following. The plant grows slowly into the tidy clump, and it stands the heat, the cold and the dry spells well. It likes the sun, and the light, well-drained soil.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The blue-grey foliage of the blue fescue gives it a recognised place in the research on the ornamental grasses of the grass family, and the glauca species appears in the studies of the colour retention and the drought tolerance. The work looks at the way the needle-like leaves bristle into the tufts, the soil-holding roots, and the seed biology. The horticulturists value the silver-blue tufts, and the growers of the ornamental and dry-garden grasses keep the species in their catalogues.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

In the sunny border and the rock garden, the blue fescue bristles the garden edge with the blue tufts. The tidy clumps edge the beds and fill the pots, the blue foliage lights the border, and the grass makes the fine low cover. It grows well in the light, well-drained, sunny ground. Silver-blue, neat and drought-proof.

To grow the Blue Fescue from seed, sow the seeds into the shallow, sandy drills of the seed tray, then cover them very lightly, keep the tray bright and lightly watered, and the seedlings wake within a couple of weeks.

Keep the tray bright and lightly watered, and pot the seedlings on as they grow. The bristle clumps come within the season. Plant the young tufts in the sunny, light ground, and the bristle clumps will blue through the season.

This is a tufted blue grass which provides great ground cover as well as rockery plant.
Germination of this seed can be challenging but is certainly worth the effort. Sow the seed from February to July and keep at a temperature around 16C The germination can be slow, after a couple of weeks place put in a polythene bag and place in the fridge for up to 6 weeks. Keep checking the seed and remove from the fridge if there are any signs of germination. Remove from the fridge after this time and return to approx 16C temperature. After 2 – 3 months return the to the fridge if there is no germination