Scientific Name:
Festuca idahoensis
Pronunciation:
fess-TEW-kuh eye-duh-ho-EN-sis
Common Name:
Idaho fescue, blue bunchgrass
Family Name:
Poaceae
Plant Type:
Poales (grass-like)
Key ID Features:
Tufted upright formal clumps 30-40(-60) cm tall and wide, nodes visible; leaf blades linear, most 10-30cm long x 1-1.8mm wide, usually green to greenish-gray (also bluish cultivars), smooth, tightly in-rolled (almost needle-like) and erect or slightly arching, evergreen; flowers dense, shortly branched panicles of spikelets early to midsummer.
Habit:
Dense, Spreading, Stiffly upright
Form:
Mounded
Texture:
Fine
Mature Height:
0.2 - 0.4m
Mature Spread:
0.3 - 0.6m
Growth Rate:
Moderate
Origin:
North America
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 3: (-40 to -34 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun
Soil/Growing Medium:
Rocky or gravelly or dry, Well-drained
Water Use:
Low
Landscape Uses:
Accent plant, Container planting, Fall interest, Group or mass planting, Mixed shrub border, Perennial border, Summer interest
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Grass-like
Arrangement:
Alternate, Basal
Texture/Venation:
Parallel venation
Surfaces:
Glabrous
Colour in Summer:
Bluish, Green, Silver / Grayish, cv. 'Golden Toupee' has golden-green leaves and tan flowers, a much smaller plant than the species (to 15-20cm high) cv. 'Pepindale Blue' is similiar to the species but with intense blue foliage
Colour in Fall:
Bluish, Green, Silver / Grayish
Shapes:
Filiform, Linear
Apices:
Acute
Bases:
Sheathing
Margins:
Entire
Additional Info:
Nine 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:
May, Jun
Fruit Type:
Grain (caryopsis)
Fruit Colour:
Brown
Fruiting Time:
Sep, Oct
Bark or Stem Colour:
Propagation:
Seed, Division - below ground parts
Other:
remove fruit to prevent self seeding
Pest Susceptibility:
Anthracnose, Rust (Drought tolerant)
