Festuca ovina Seeds | Sheep Fescue
LATIN NAME: Festuca ovina
COMMON NAME: Sheep Fescue
Plant Profile
Sheep Fescue (Festuca ovina) is a fine, densely tufted perennial grass of the family Poaceae, native to the dry grasslands and mountains of Europe and Asia. It forms tight tussocks 10-40 cm tall, with bristle-like, blue-green blades and narrow flower panicles in early summer. Extremely drought- and grazing-tolerant, it is a foundation grass of sheep pastures, dry lawns and green roofs.
Science & Biotechnology
As part of the grass family, Festuca ovina contributes to research on plant classification and adaptation, while nurseries and gardeners continue to trial it for cultivation. Fine leaves of sheep fescue give it a recognised place in research on dryland turf grasses of grass family, and ovina species appears in studies of low-maintenance sward and drought physiology. Centuries of cultivation have left a detailed record of how it grows and behaves.
Uses & Benefits
In the garden, Sheep Fescue earns its place in borders, containers and mixed plantings, and it also rewards growers who raise plants for cutting, drying or kitchen use. In dry, sunny lawn and meadow, sheep fescue tufts dry bank with fine green blades. Tussocks make soft, natural sward, roots hold loose ground, and grass feeds sheep and wildlife for generations. It grows well in light, well-drained, sunny ground. Thereafter it wants only the ordinary attentions any garden plant receives.
Fescues are the backbone of fine lawns and upland pasture, and their roots host the alkaloid chemistry that makes endophyte research a whole field of forage science.
Growing from Seed
Sheep Fescue grows readily from seed. Surface-sow onto a light, well-drained compost, dust over a thin covering, and keep evenly moist and sunny until the seedlings show. Move strong seedlings into individual pots, keep them in good light, and set them out when the weather and their size agree.
Our Take
It is a solid representative of the Festuca group, true to type from seed. In a sunny, freely drained position it needs little looking after.
Related Reading
More species in the same orbit as Sheep Fescue: