Turf Fescue vs Bluegrass – Which one is best for your lawn?

Fescue grass and bluegrass are planted in lawns to make them beautiful. They make an otherwise bland looking and unwelcoming patch of land beautiful and nice to relax on. These grasses are both beautiful, but they have different characteristics that make them ideal for different regions.

For any grass lover, or for anyone who finds grass relaxing and beautiful, it is quite important to find a grass type that works and serves the purpose for which they intended it. Some like grasses that look nice, but have no interaction with it at all. Other people like grasses on which they can play, roll and even lie.

Different grass types have varying characteristics, and they require different environments and care practices to thrive. Two such grasses are the fescue grass and bluegrass. There are different species of these grasses, especially the fescues. Here, we look at two types, the Tall fescue and the Kentucky Blue Grass.

Tall fescue is a type of turf grass that is hardy and beautiful. It prefers shady and cool areas and has no problem with extreme heat and drought. It thrives in both northern and southern regions of the United States. With little need for maintenance and watering, this grass will have you relaxing your days away.

Kentucky Bluegrass is quite a beauty. It thrives in cold and cool regions, but has a preference for full sun. It has less tolerance for heat and drought, and it tends to go dormant in these seasons.

Tall Fescue vs Kentucky Bluegrass – How do they differ?

Propagation

Tall fescues are ideally planted in cooler seasons, especially in the fall and spring. This grass type reaches its peak growth during these seasons. When planting, seeds are sown on a prepared patch of land. The grass is naturally bunch forming and has limited spreading capacity. It forms clumps and grows more vertically than it does horizontally. For this reason, it becomes quite ease to maintain, and keeping it out of regions in which it is not desired, such as flower beds, becomes quite easy. On the downside, it is unable to self-repair when patches become damaged.

Kentucky Bluegrass also grows quite fast during the cooler climates of fall and spring. It is self-spreading as it forms rhizomes, a network of horizontal stems which grow underground. For this reason, it easily self-repairs in case a patch becomes damaged. Its spread ability makes it require constant maintenance so as to keep it away from unwanted places such as walk ways and flower beds.

Weather and Climatic Preferences

While both of these grasses reach peak growth in the cooler seasons of fall and spring, they both thrive in different climatic conditions. Kentucky Bluegrass feels quite at home in full sun, and it thrives when exposed to it. However, it does not so well in extreme heat and drought. It becomes dormant in these cases and resumes growth in the fall and spring. The Kentucky Bluegrass is ideal for regions that experience harsh cold weather. It is mostly planted in the northern regions of the United States. It is excellently hardy during the winter and does not experience damage in this season.

Tall fescue is more of a shade grass than a sun loving grass. This, however, is not to mean that it will not do well in hot weather. In fact, it has excellent tolerance for extremely hot and dry conditions, even with minimal watering. It also does quite well in the cooler seasons of fall and spring. This grass thrives equally well in the northern and southern regions of the United States.

Watering and Maintenance

Kentucky Bluegrass requires moderate watering and care. You will not have to mow it every so often, seeing that it grows mostly horizontally. If you have regions where you do not wish the grass to reach, you may have to snip it to keep it within the desired patch.

Tall fescue grass requires minimal watering and maintenance. It does sufficiently well even with little water owing to their deep root system that allows it to absorb water from deep soils. In case of damage, you may have to replant the damaged patches. It is unable to self-repair due to its vertical growth.

The table below outlines the differences between these two grass types.

Grass Type	Kentucky Bluegrass	Tall Fescue
Climatic Preferences	Colder (winter) regions	Cool climate regions
Propagation	Self-spreading	Turf forming
Watering and Maintenance	Moderate watering and maintenance	Low watering and maintenance
Regions of use	Colder northern regions of the United states	Northern and southern regions of the United States

Kentucky Bluegrass vs Tall Fescue review

Kentucky Bluegrass

This grass establishes itself quite well after germination. It spreads horizontally, and requires moderate care and watering. It does quite well in harsh winter regions and becomes dormant in hot and dry conditions.

Pros

• It is fast germinating
• It is self-spreading and self-repairing
• It does quite well in extremely cold regions

Cons

• It has low tolerance to hot and dry conditions

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Tall Fescue

This grass germinates faster than the Kentucky Bluegrass and tends to grow vertically. For this reason, it is unable to self-repair when patches sustain damage. It does well in cool regions and has a high tolerance for extreme heat and drought. It requires low watering and maintenance.

Pros

• It germinates faster
• It has deep roots which make it drought resistant
• It requires low watering and maintenance
• It does well in both the northern and southern regions of the States.

Cons

• It does not self-repair in case of damage

 

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Final verdict

The Kentucky Bluegrass and Tall Fescue are undeniably incredibly beautiful grasses. They will make your yard nice and lovely, and you can relax on either of them. Pick the grass of your choice depending on the climatic conditions of your region, and also have in mind the kind of care you are willing to give and the intensity of traffic and activity that will happen on the grass.