How to Care for Blue Festuca Grass
Blue festuca ornamental grass, also called Elijah Blue fescue, provides a dash of grey-blue foliage to your landscape. This perennial grass grows low to the ground, in attractive round clumps, and fares well in most soils (including sandy soils), as long as the soil has good drainage. Because it is easy to care for and retains color all year (in warm regions), Festuca is a suitable plant for landscape borders.
Plant blue festuca in a sunny, well-drained area of your yard, at least 12 inches apart if planting more than one, as they spread. Daytonnursery.com warns that this grass may rot if planted in heavy, poorly drained wet soils. If your garden soil is heavy clay, add sand and other additions, such as perlite, to lighten the soil. Avoid peat moss, however, as blue festuca grass prefers a slightly alkaline soil--peat moss may make soil too acidic for this plant.
- Blue festuca ornamental grass, also called Elijah Blue fescue, provides a dash of grey-blue foliage to your landscape.
- Because it is easy to care for and retains color all year (in warm regions), Festuca is a suitable plant for landscape borders.
Water new plantings of this grass enough to keep soil moist (but not muddy) so blue festuca will develop strong roots. Once established, this plant is tolerant of drought, however, and you won’t need to water it often--watering needs will depend much on rainfall and how hot your region gets. Be flexible with your watering habits--if you are watering every week and the plant is doing poorly, try watering more frequently; if the plant continues to decline, water less frequently--and eventually you will get an idea of the appropriate watering schedule for your festuca.
Clip off old, brown foliage as it appears. Use garden shears to do this--clip it down close to the ground level.
Divide the clump into smaller plants for replanting. Monrovia.com suggests doing this every two to three years and only in the springtime. To divide, gently loosen soil around the grass with your garden spade. Lift the plant and gently pull away small clumps of the grass for replanting. Have your garden shears on hand in case you must cut the clumps away (if they are resistant to pulling). Plant the new clumps immediately and water them--treat these newly planted grasses as if you just brought them home from the nursery. They will need time to root to their new location.
- Water new plantings of this grass enough to keep soil moist (but not muddy) so blue festuca will develop strong roots.
- Plant the new clumps immediately and water them--treat these newly planted grasses as if you just brought them home from the nursery.
Fertilize blue festuca once each spring with a balanced fertilizer. You can use a liquid or granular fertilizer, as long as you place the fertilizer at the soil level (not the leaves) and water it in well.
