Fescue grasses are quickly becoming one of the more popular turf choices in many parts of the country. Until recently, Fescue types weren't even on the list of most lawn professionals choices. However, the reasons for this are becoming less as breeders are developing new and better strains that hold their own in most areas.

The original fescues had very little going for them in terms of being a turf grass. While they were able to grow very well in even the worst soils and growing conditions, they had very poor texture, color, disease resistance, traffic resistance, and weren't very tolerant to either heat or cold. And that would be enough to keep them off anyone's list as a choice for their lawn.

Today however, some of the newer strains are absolutely wonderful in most of these areas. And while most aspects have improved, the ability to handle drought and heat is one of the main reasons for making it so popular. They still can't handle extreme cold very well. But with the increased concern for natural resources and water shortages, they're finding their way into the hotter, drier, and arid regions of the country. Some of the new varieties handle heat very well and will generally state it in the label.

Shade tolerance is another area where Fescues work well. If you look on the label of most shady area grass seed mixtures there will generally be one or more types of Fescue in the mix. And most always, Tall Fescue.

Turf type Fescue grasses fall under two categories. Coarse and fine. However, depending on manufacturer, they're called many different names where coarse or fine aren't even in the name. Probably the most common label you'll see is Tall Fescue which is considered a coarse blade grass. Generally though, the newer strains of Tall Fescue have a leaf texture that is far from coarse and form a very nice lawn.

Fine Fescues are great for shady areas and cold climates. They're also very low maintenance and don't require much fertilizing and need less mowing. However, they don't do as well in hot dry areas as the coarse Tall Fescue grasses. While they don't like conditions too wet or too dry, they actually do better on the dry side. Fine Fescue also does much better in deeper shade areas. So if you have a very dry shady lawn area, this might just be the perfect lawn grass for your area.

Since Fescue is a clump type grass, it doesn't fill in well when bare areas appear. It also gets thinner over time. So it's good practice to over seed the lawn in the Fall, Spring, or both. It doesn't germinate well and can sometimes be hard to get established. It may take a few seedings to get a full lawn. However, if your conditions match the needs of these turf types, it's a great choice for a high traffic, disease resistant, drought tolerant lawn that does well in sun or partial shade. Written by Steve Boulden. Steve is the creator of The Landscape Design Site which offers free landscaping ideas, plans, pictures, and advice. Visit his site at www.the-landscape-design-site.com.