Disadvantages To Consider Before Growing Tall Fescue Grass

Tall fescue, or Lolium arundinaceum, is a favorite cool-season grass in the US because it grows quickly from seeds and can handle a wide range of soil conditions. However, it can handle heat and drought better than some cool-season grasses but not as well as warm-season grasses like zenith zoysia grass.

Because of this, tall fescue is one of the best lawn grasses for the transition zone, which is the 200-mile-wide area between the cooler northern states and the warmer southern states.

Most cool-season grasses can not grow on lawns in this tricky area because it gets too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. So a cool season grass that can handle a little more heat, like tall fescue, has all the right traits to do well in those transition zones.

But before you order a lot of this famous cool-season grass seed for your lawn, you should think about some of the bad things about having tall fescue grass. To put it another way, just because it grows better in your tricky climate than other plants does not mean it will do well there.

Pests and diseases like to attack tall grass, especially in places that are humid. Because it grows quickly, you will probably have to mow your yard more often than with other types of grass that grow more slowly. A tall fescue lawn might need a lot of upkeep, and it is also a non-native plant that has spread to some states and become invasive.

Why tall fescue might not be the best choice

First, let us talk about care and upkeep. Tall fescue can grow in bad soil and can handle heat and drought better than some other cool-season grasses, but it can still be picky. It is more likely to get diseases, especially brown patch, in wet places.

When temps rise above 75 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer, your lawn can get heat stress, which can make it look patchy and thin just when you want it to look its best. Tall fescue grass grows quickly and may need to be mowed as many as twice a week to keep it at a height of 2 to 3 inches if it is not sick or stressed by the heat.

Aside from being hard to keep up, tall fescue can also be bad for the environment in your area. The grass grows very quickly and can quickly take over open plains and settle in places that have been disturbed, like along roadsides. Native grasses and prairie plants that animals in your area depend on for food and protection are pushed out when it does this.

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The good news is that those native grasses that tall fescue would push out can be a great choice for your yard instead. These native species not only cope with your climate better, they grow in it, which is better for the environment.

As alternatives, buffalo grass (Bouteloua dactyloides), big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula), and eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides) are all native to most of the United States and grow well there.