Scientific Name:
Festuca glauca
Pronunciation:
fess-TEW-kuh GLAW-kuh
Common Name:
blue fescue, blue sheep fescue
Family Name:
Poaceae
Plant Type:
Poales (grass-like)
Key ID Features:
Tufted dome-shaped mounds (porcupine-like), 15-25cm tall and wide; leaves blue-grey to silvery-blue, smooth, tightly in-rolled (almost needle-like) and erect or slightly arching, evergreen, (7-)12-17(-20)cm long x 0.6-1mm wide, most with 9 ribbed veins, sheaths closed about half their length, ligules 0.1-0.4mm long; inflorescence dense, rising 15-25cm above foliage, shortly branched panicles of spikelets 6-9mm long, early to midsummer.
Habit:
Dense, Spreading, Stiffly upright
Form:
Mounded
Texture:
Fine
Mature Height:
0.2 - 0.4m
Mature Spread:
0.6 - 1.0m
Growth Rate:
Moderate
Origin:
Europe
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 3: (-40 to -34 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun
Soil/Growing Medium:
Rocky or gravelly or dry, Well-drained
Water Use:
Moderate, Low
Landscape Uses:
Accent plant, Container planting, Fall interest, Group or mass planting, Mixed shrub border, Perennial border, Summer interest
Additional Info:
Google. Cultivars shown or on campus may include F. 'Elijah Blue', F. ‘Golden Toupee'. (golden-green leaves and tan flowers, a much smaller plant than the species at just 15-20cm tall) and F. 'Pepindale Blue' (similiar to the species but with intense blue foliage). Compare to F. idahoensis (larger mounds; leaves longer, softer, more arching or less porcupine-like, and usually more greenish-grey except for bluish cultivars).
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Grass-like
Arrangement:
Alternate, Basal
Texture/Venation:
Parallel venation
Surfaces:
Glabrous
Colour in Summer:
Bluish, F. ‘Golden Toupee' leaves are golden-green
Colour in Fall:
Bluish
Shapes:
Filiform, Linear
Apices:
Acute
Bases:
Sheathing
Margins:
Entire
Additional Info:
5-9 major veins
Inflorescence Type:
Spikelet, Floriferous
Flower Morphology:
Flowers perfect
Number Of Petals:
0
Ovary Position:
Superior
Colour (petals):
Showy, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet (blue-green with yellow anthers)
Flower Scent:
None
Flower Time at Peak:
Jun, Jul, Aug
Fruit Type:
Grain (caryopsis)
Fruit Colour:
Brown
Fruiting Time:
Sep, Oct
Bark or Stem Colour:
Green, Tan
Propagation:
Seed, Division - below ground parts
Maintenance:
Medium
Other:
Divide up clumps every 2-3 years in early spring when centre dies back
Pest Susceptibility:
Anthracnose, Rust (Deer resistant, Drought tolerant)
Course(s):
- HORT 1155
- Level 3 Apprenticeship
Location(s):
- (BCE) Boulevard (Circular) Eastend
- (BCW) Boulevard (Circular) Westend : cv. Boarder Blue, on green wall
- (BKW) Boulevard Kwantlen Way
- (GAZ) GAZebo
- (GAZW) GAZebo West : q.3 clumps
- (GRB) GRass Bed
- (MCC) Main Campus Courtyard