MR439: An Evaluation of Turfgrass Species and Varieties: Fineleaf fescues

The fineleaf fescues comprise 28 species of perennial grasses in the genus Festuca. The fescue species represented in the United States include deeply rooted grasses with both wide and narrow leaf types, bunch and spreading plant morphologies, and tolerances to a wide variety of environmental conditions. Several of these species exhibit desirable characteristics for turfgrass use: adaptation to cool, humid regions, tolerance to droughty acidic soils, excellent wear and shade tolerance, deep, erosion-resistant root systems and rapid recovery following mowing. This report presents the results of Maine trials in the 1998 National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) Fineleaf Fescue Trial, which evaluated 79 varieties representing four species: Chewing’s fescue, creeping red fescue, hard fescue, sheep fescue, and blue sheep fescuehttps://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_miscreports/1013/thumbnail.jp