Fescue’s Summer Off Season
Question: What is one of the best things about living in Oklahoma?
Did anyone say: Living in the transition zone?
I’m guessing that was no one’s answer.
What is the transition zone? It is the area across the middle of the US between where warm season turf grows in the south and cool season grasses grow in the north.
The Transition Zone is the area of the country you can choose to grow either warm season or cool season grasses.
Bermuda is the common warm season turfgrass in our region. The advantage bermuda has is it loves the summer heat and as long as it receives moisture, it will be at its best in July and August.
Fescue is the cool season option. Fescue tolerates more shade and stays green nearly year-round. You can’t beat the deep rich color in the spring and fall. Fescue stays green well into December, often keeps some color through the winter, and as soon as the winter starts to break in early March, fescue bursts back to life.
Both have their off seasons.
Bermuda’s off season starts in November and continues until April. During this time, it goes fully dormant and turns straw-brown for months.
When is fescue’s off season?
Yes, fescue loses its green color in the winter and stops growing. So, yes, fescue has an off season in the winter, but much shorter than bermuda. Fescue goes through another slump in July through August when temperatures above 95 degrees are common. During fescue’s summer off season, growth slows and the color isn’t as intense. But, when a fescue lawn is healthy and growing under the best conditions, the summer off season is barely noticeable.
In April, customers with bermuda lawns often ask why their lawn isn’t as green as the fescue lawns on their block.
And, right now with 10 consecutive 90+ degree days, customers with fescue lawns are asking questions about why their fescue isn’t looking as good as it did in June.
Fescue lawn with dappled sunshine.
July through August is fescue’s second off season while bermuda is at peak season!
Bermuda will always have more color than fescue in July and August, but March through June and again October into December, fescue will always win the color battle.
Fescue when watered and mowed properly in full sun in the heat of the summer.
How do you keep a fescue lawn looking its best in the summer heat?
Let’s run through a list of best and worst practices for fescue during its summer off season.
Best practices for keeping fescue looking good during July and August:
Mow fescue at 3” – 3 ½”. The more leaf space the better color and the more drought tolerant the lawn will be.
Water deep. Water infrequent. Water in the early morning. Fescue lawns that are receiving 1 ½” of moisture per week, on an every other day schedule, only in the morning, look the best in the heat of summer.
Fescue lawns that receive at least some dappled sunlight and are in areas of good air circulation look the best during the summer heat.
Fescue lawns that are aerated in the fall have stronger root systems and can better withstand hot, dry days.
A properly watered and mowed fescue lawn last year during the first week of August.
Worst practices for fescue during the summer heat:
Don’t over water. Short, frequent watering does far more harm than good. It is a myth that fescue needs watered daily during the heat of July and August. When temperatures are hot and fescue stays wet for more than 6 hours at a time, brown patch will damage the turf. When brown patch starts spreading in a fescue lawn, it looks like the lawn needs more water. The natural response is to water more which makes the problem worse. It is common when making site visits where customers are concerned about their fescue to discover brown patch is the problem. Often the homeowner has increased watering to two times per day, morning and evening, every day trying to keep the fescue alive, all the while making it worse.
Brown patch in fescue.
Fescue with a mild case of brown patch.
Brown Patch is a result of fescue staying too wet when temperatures are warm. This year has been a perfect season for brown patch to flourish. Now that we have received two weeks of 95+ degree weather, areas weakened by brown patch in June are starting to show stress.
Heavy shade and low air circulation. Fescue performs best if it receives some sunlight every day. Fescue will tolerate more sun than most realize and does well in full sun when it is watered and mowed properly. Air circulation plays the important role of drying the leaf blades between watering cycles. Small backyards, privacy fences, and heavy shade are the hardest on fescue in July and August. This week Hall | Stewart Lawn Care Specialists have visited several fescue lawns with good air flow and dappled sun resulting in healthy fescue with good summer color while in the same lawn there is thinning/fading fescue in areas with low air circulation and deep shade.
Fescue cut too short. Remember leaf blades store moisture the plant needs to withstand the summer heat. Fescue survives through July and August best when it is cut at 3” to 3 1/2”. Every fescue lawn I have seen this week that is being maintained below 3” is struggling. If your fescue is less than 3” tall, don’t mow again until it reaches 4”, then remove only ½” to 1”.
Tight clay soil that has never been aerated resulting in shallow rooted fescue that will struggle in the heat.
Drought stressed fescue.
If your fescue is losing a lot of color check the soil. If it is dry, increase water by deep soaking in the morning every other day. If the soil is moist, then the problem is brown patch.
Fescue seeded over Bermuda in full sun in the heat of the year.
Fescue in full to dappled sun in July.
During fescue’s offseason, take a stroll around your lawn and start planning for the fall. The cooler days of September will be here soon.
Do you need to make some changes to how you are mowing and watering your fescue?
Are you trying to grow fescue in full shade, in a location where there is little wind movement?
If so, can you improve the conditions, or should you consider transitioning to a shade tolerant ground cover?
Or, are you OK with knowing the area needs to be overseeded with fescue every fall, will look wonderful for 9-10 months, fade for a couple of months, and then repeat the cycle again after fall overseeding?
If your fescue didn’t perform well due to the excessive moisture and high humidity of the early summer, or if it has struggled with brown patch in the heat, start making plans to overseed this fall.
Do you have areas of the lawn that are becoming too shady for bermuda? Bermuda starts to thin anywhere it does not get at least 6 hours of direct sunlight every day. Is this the fall to start establishing fescue in those areas?
Whether you have a full fescue lawn, or just some fescue in shady areas, don’t fret, fescue’s best season is just a few weeks away!
Lorne Hall
Hall | Stewart Lawn + Landscape
(405)367-3873