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California Fescue
Festuca californica
  
About California Fescue (Festuca californica) 79 Nurseries Carry This Plant This species of grass is native to California and Oregon, where it is a member of many plant communities, including chaparral. This fescue is a clumping perennial without rhizomes. The rough leaves are narrow but can be quite long. The flower cluster holds spikelets, each 1/2 to 1 inch long.

The plant reproduces from seed and from buds located at the base of the clump. It is used for revegetating grassland that has been cleared or claimed by non-native grasses.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Grasses

Size
Size
1.3 - 4 ft tall
3 ft wide

Form
Form
Upright, Fountain

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Fast, Moderate

Dormancy
Dormancy
Evergreen

Fragrance
Fragrance
None

Flower Color
Flower Color
Yellow

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring, Winter

Wildlife Supported
 


Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun, Part Shade

Moisture
Moisture
Very Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 3x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 30° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium, Slow

Soil Description
Soil Description
Prefers loamy or clay soils. Grows poorly in sandy soils.. Tolerates Serpentine Soil. Soil PH: 6.0 - 7.2

Common uses
Common uses
Groundcovers, Deer Resistant

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
This is a large clumping grass, so use with shrubs that won't be overwhelmed by it, such as Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), Lemonade Berry (Rhus integrifolia), larger Ceanothus, Manzanita species, or Scrub Oaks.

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
4, 5, 6, 7*, 8, 9, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Open places

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 12.8" - 143.7", Summer Precipitation: 0.19" - 5.56", Coldest Month: 29.5" - 56.0", Hottest Month: 51.7" - 76.3", Humidity: 0.14" - 25.33", Elevation: 13" - 8689"


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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