Fescue Expectations

What to Expect from Your Fescue Lawn

Spring is Fescue turf’s favorite time of year. With about six months of root development over the winter and temperatures above 60 degrees but below 85 degrees, Fescue thrives in the spring. The clumps planted in the fall are filling in nicely, and your lawn is likely making you (and King GREEN) happy.

We love answering the phones in March, April, and May (and then again in October and November). Everybody is loving their lawn and their lawn service! 😊

Then comes the heat, and we are in the doghouse.

Georgia and the Carolinas are in the transition zone, which means there is no type of turf that will look good all year long. Warm-season grasses like Bermuda go dormant in the winter, and cool-season grasses like Fescue suffer and die back in the heat of the summer. The Fescue lawn you have in August is not the same one you had in April, and there is just nothing that can be done to change that.

Heat Stress

The biggest culprit is heat stress and its cousin, drought stress. In temperatures over 85 degrees, Fescue simply needs more water than its root system can take up. A well-maintained, well-watered, and established lawn will fare better in the heat, but you just can’t water your grass out of 90+ temperatures.

Brown Patch Disease

Another constant problem is brown patch disease, which is always active in the summer months. Its severity is determined by many factors, most notably heat and humidity. The hotter and wetter the summer, the worse it is. We know this is terribly frustrating, as the grass needs the water, but that same water will encourage the brown patch.

What You Can Do

• Mow your lawn high. You want to keep the lawn at 3.5 to 4 inches during the hotter months.

• Water well. Continue to water long and deep, but you can now water more often (2–3 times per week). Avoid watering between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. Early morning is best.

• Don't kill the grass with kindness. Do not add fertilizer or minerals, as the lawn is not in a position to use them and they may actually do more harm than good.

• Use fungicides. Fungicides are expensive, but they do work pretty well. If it is worth it to you to try and keep the lawn as nice as possible through the summer, you may want to use our fungicide program... or just wait and save your money to...

• Aerate and seed. We begin doing this in late August and do recommend having the seeding done early, but offer the service through October. It fixes summer damage. (Spring seeding is not recommended.)

Remember, there is no 12-month grass in Georgia and the Carolinas! Fescue, as a cool-season grass, takes the summer off.

Above all, don't panic! The temperatures will go down and your grass will come back!!

Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns.