Fine fescue
Which grass should you choose? Check out our plots at the fair to help decide!
By Andrew Hollman and Kristine Moncada
We often get questions about which grass to buy for a home lawn. There are several different options for cool-season turfgrasses grown in Minnesota; which you choose will depend on your site, how you use your lawn, how much maintenance you want to do, and maybe even aesthetics.
New research publication from our team - 9/19/23
Learn more about our research! A new, open access article by Ross Braun, Eric Watkins, Andrew Hollman, Aaron Patton has been published in the journal Crop Science. This research demonstrates that fine fescues are truly low-input as they require less fertilizer and pesticides, while maintaining turf quality, compared to traditional turfgrass species.
Braun, R. C., Watkins, E., Hollman, A. B., and Patton, A. J. 2023. Assessing the fertilizer and pesticide input needs of cool-season turfgrass species. Crop Science, 63:3079–3095. https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.21046 [Open Access]
New research publication from our team - 9/18/23
Learn more about our research! A new, open access article by Florence Breuillin-Sessoms, Dominic Petrella, Nancy Ehlke, Donn Vellekson and Eric Watkins has been published in the journal Crop Science. This article discusses the research in which several cultivars of Chewings, hard and strong creeping red fescue were interseeded with spring wheat to examine the potential of this method for seed production in northern Minnesota. Unfortunately, this cropping system did not seem optimal for fine fescue seed production so more research is needed.
New fine fescue resources from UMN Extension
UMN Extension now has new materials on everything you need to know to establish and maintain a fine fescue lawn! Are you interested in a lawn that needs less maintenance? Fine fescues might be what you're looking for. Not only do fine fescues have lower maintenance requirements, they have better tolerance for shade and are adapted to most growing conditions in Minnesota.
New research publication from our team - 7/11/22
Learn more about our research! A new, open access article by Ross Braun, Eric Watkins, Andrew Hollman, Nicole Mihelich, and Aaron Patton has been published in Agronomy Journal. This journal article summarizes research on using different cool-season turfgrasses for sod and found that fine fescue sod with strong creeping red fescue may be a promising option for sod producers.