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Festuca rubra
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Red Fescue
( Festuca rubra )
Festuca rubra
More Photos at CalPhotos
More Info at Jepson eFlora
Calflora
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49 Nurseries Carry This Plant
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About Red Fescue (Festuca rubra)
49 Nurseries Carry This Plant
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Red Fescue is one of many species of Festuca native to California. It is a cool-season species of bunch grass (summer dormant) that is found worldwide and can tolerate many habitats and climates. It is a nutritious and palatable forage grass for domestic and wild animals. It is used as a turfgrass and groundcover and can be left completely unmowed for a lush prairie-like look. It spreads by rhizomes. There are three recognized subspecies, and many cultivars have been bred.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Grasses
Size
1.3 - 2.6 ft tall
Form
Upright, Fountain
Growth Rate
Fast, Moderate
Flower Color
Yellow
Flowering Season
Spring
Wildlife Supported
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 3
confirmed
, 10
likely
* )
SHOW ALL
Umber Skipper
Poanes melane
Poanes melane
Mardon Skipper
Polites mardon
Polites mardon
Sachem
Atalopedes campestris
Atalopedes campestris
*
Common Ringlet
Coenonympha tullia
Coenonympha tullia
*
Sandhill Skipper
Polites sabuleti
Polites sabuleti
*
Sonora Skipper
Polites sonora
Polites sonora
*
Sierra Skipper
Hesperia miriamae
Hesperia miriamae
Landscaping Information
Sun
Part Shade, Full Sun
Moisture
Low
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / month once established
Nurseries
Carried by 49
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to -10° F
Soil Drainage
Medium
Soil Description
Tolerates many soil types. Soil PH: 5.6 - 6.9
Common uses
Groundcovers, Deer Resistant, Butterfly Gardens
Companion Plants
It can be used with a wide variety of native plants in a meadow-like garden or as an accent among shrubs and subshrubs
Maintenance
Does not need to be cut back but can be cut back in summer if desired
Propagation
?
For propagating by seed: No treatment freshly harvested seeds need 5 days stratification (Association of Official Seed Analysts 1981; or dry storage for 1-2 mos. before sowing (Crocker and Barton 1957).
Sunset Zones
?
1, 2, 3, 4*, 5*, 6*, 7*, 8, 9, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*
Natural Setting
Site Type
Dunes, meadows, openings in woodland or chaparral
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 5.5" - 137.1", Summer Precipitation: 0.17" - 3.99", Coldest Month: 10.8" - 56.0", Hottest Month: 34.1" - 78.2", Humidity: 0.01" - 28.20", Elevation: -12" - 14090"
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Red Fescue
Festuca rubra
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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