Fescue Lawn is yellowing

Q: My fescue lawn has taken on a yellow, bleached appearance; what can I use to green it up again? 

A: Fescue is deemed a cool season grass but not a cold-season grass. It does most of its growth when it’s cool in the spring and the fall, not winter or summer. Recommendations are to fertilize three or four times between September and April but leave it alone in summer. If properly cared for, fescue grass will look lush during the cool season, but this vibrant green comes with a caveat: If it gets really cold before the fescue can prepare, the lush growth can freeze. Sometimes it happens in patches and sometimes the whole lawn will turn yellow. I think that’s what happened to your lawn.

You didn’t say how much you fertilized, but next year fertilize based on a University of Georgia soil test (georgiasoiltest.com). Right now, the best you can do is apply a high nitrogen lawn fertilizer (like 32-0 4 or similar) very lightly, perhaps 1 pound per 1,000 square feet. This will give the fescue some nutrition when the grass gets warm in spring but won’t produce the lush growth that might be frozen.