Festuca rubra Seeds | Red Fescue
LATIN NAME: Festuca rubra
COMMON NAME: Red Fescue
Plant Profile
Festuca rubra, commonly known as Red Fescue, is a perennial. It spreads steadily by creeping stems into a fine, dense sward, and it stands cold winters, shade and ordinary, well-drained soils well. Choose full sun and ordinary, well-drained ground for this plant. Its open flowers are a reliable stop for bees and other pollinating visitors. Gardeners value it precisely for this blend of qualities.
Science & Biotechnology
Research touching on Festuca rubra ranges from the botany of the Festuca group to practical horticulture, including seed handling, propagation and the selection of superior forms. Red fescue is one of the most studied turf grasses in the world, with a rich record in agronomic research. Continuing work by breeders and collectors keeps good seed of this species moving through the trade.
Uses & Benefits
In the garden, Red Fescue earns its place in borders, containers and mixed plantings, and it also rewards growers who raise plants for cutting, drying or kitchen use. Ecologically, red fescue is a valuable grass. It is a component of fine natural grasslands and meadows, its dense turf provides food and shelter for insects and small animals, and it helps hold soil on banks and slopes, preventing erosion. It is one of the most widely sown turf grasses in the temperate world, used for fine lawns, sports turf, golf courses, amenity grass and erosion control, and it is a major crop in the grass-seed industry. After the first season it asks for very little beyond a place that suits it.
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
Seed is the natural starting point for Red Fescue, and the process is uncomplicated. Growing red fescue from seed is easy and gives excellent results. Fine seeds do well in cool, moist conditions, so sow them in spring or early autumn, either scattered over a prepared seedbed or in rows, and rake them in very lightly, keeping ground moist until seedlings are established. Sow evenly over the surface and cover lightly into a loose, well-drained seed compost, water in gently, and keep the sowing in full sun with steady moisture. Shift the seedlings into small pots as soon as they can be handled, and give them bright light until planting-out time.
Our Take
Its long record of traditional use, described above, gives the plant a story beyond ornament. Red Fescue settles in quickly once it finds its footing. Once the young plants are away, there is little left to do but watch them grow.
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