Festuca glauca Seeds | Blue Fescue

Dense blue-grey tuft of Blue Fescue (Festuca glauca) with straw-coloured seed heads — Blue Fescue (*Festuca glauca*): Poaceae, a small evergreen grass grown for its blue-grey foliage.

LATIN NAME: Festuca glauca

COMMON NAME: Blue Fescue

Plant Profile

Blue fescue is a small, dense, evergreen grass of the fescue group, grown for its stiff, blue-grey leaves and tidy dome shape. It forms a clump twenty to thirty centimetres tall and slightly wider, with fine, rolled blades that stand upright and catch the light.

In summer it throws up narrow seed heads that turn straw-coloured and can be left for winter interest. The colour is strongest in spring and fades in heat, and plants in rich soil turn green and floppy within a season. The leaf tips are sharp enough to prick a hand, which is why it is best kept away from the edge of a path.

Science & Biotechnology

The name covers a group of cultivated blue fescues whose origin has been debated, since the plants sold under it are often hybrids or selections of Festuca ovina and related species from southern Europe. Breeding has produced named forms such as Elijah Blue and Blaufuchs, selected for leaf colour and for holding that colour through winter.

Studies of the group have used chromosome counts to sort out the parentage, and work on leaf waxes has explained why the blue forms reflect light differently from the green ones. Its drought tolerance has made it a subject in trials for green roofs and dry planting.

Uses & Benefits

It is a plant for the front of a border, a gravel garden, a rock garden or a container, where its shape and colour can be seen close up. It is also used in massed plantings, where rows of blue clumps make a low, textured surface.

The seed heads are useful in dried arrangements, and the foliage contrasts well with silver and purple plants. In a dry garden it holds the edge of a path without needing water, which few small plants manage. It also works in a pot on a sunny step, where it can be moved out of winter rain.

In a mixed planting it is best used in odd numbers along an edge, where the repetition of the blue clumps reads as a single line. The seed heads can be left through winter, when they catch frost and give the plant a second season of interest.

Growing from Seed

Sow in spring at 15-20C, covering the seed lightly; germination takes two to three weeks. Plant out in full sun on sharply drained soil, and avoid rich compost, which makes the leaves green and floppy.

Lift and divide clumps every two or three years, since old plants die out in the centre, and trim the old foliage in early spring before new growth starts. In a gravel garden, plant it where the crown sits proud of the soil, since burying the base rots the plant in winter. Seed heads can be cut for drying before they shatter, and the clump trimmed afterwards.

Our Take

Blue fescue is a small plant with a large effect at the edge of a border or in a pot. Give it sun and drainage and it will keep its colour for years.

Herb Seeds