How To Save Fescue In The Summer

Q: Every year, I plant fescue seed and get a lush lawn. Come summer, it always dies out; by the end of the summer there is nothing left. I am aware that fescue doesn’t like heat. What do you know about the new fescue hybrids that are more heat and drought tolerant?

A: Fescue is fescue is fescue. The heat that causes its summer swoon is not daytime temperatures, although they are a factor. More important are nighttime temperatures. Any night when temperatures are above 70° is a night that fescue has a hard time repairing itself to withstand the next day’s stressors. The best thing you can do to help fescue survive summer conditions is to make sure the ground is soft at least six inches deep when you plant. This means tilling your entire lawn with a motorized machine.

Once that is completed, have a University of Georgia soil test (1-800-ASKUGA1)done to make sure the nutrients and pH level of the soil are conducive for fescue. There is no miracle seed that is head and shoulders superior to another modern fescue variety. A blend of different fescue varieties is your best choice.