Lawns Hub

Fescues grasses are divided into two categories:  fine and tall varieties.  Fine Fescues are lawn-specific in almost every case and provide a mic of seed that can endure some of the problems which others cannot.  There are varieties of fine fescues which are the best available choices for that conundrum faced by almost all lawn fanciers with trees: deep shade.  “Chewings  and Creeping Fescues” have been developed as perhaps the most shade-tolerant grasses of all.  There are others which have different general qualities, but I have planted “Chewings” with some great results.

Fescues develop into a thick mat, dense and much more drought and disease-resistant than bluegrasses.  Insects are also much less of a problem for these grasses, research has proven, owing to certain genetic, chemical properties.

Originally developed as a “transitional” grass, this seed is very drought resistant, perhaps as much as any “cool season” grass.  It is pretty universal throughout the American Mid West and into Canada as well.  Red Fescues are almost universally added to Bluegrass mixes to supply a longer-lasting green color once the bluegrasses go dormant.

Almost all the “thin Fescues” are delicate-seeming, with thin blades made for walking on.  The Tall varieties however, are much coarser.  These seeds are often used on athletic fields and in pastures and such owing to their slower rate of growth and their extreme durability.  Drought-tolerance is their other primary feature, as these grasses develop root systems that reach amazingly deeply into the soil beneath them.

I once seeded a front lawn in 100% Tall Fescue and I ended up regretting it.  The coarseness wore my feet out.  But it stayed green far longer than my other neighbor’s lawns and I needed less water to make it work as a lawn, so I kept it.  Mixed in bluegrass, it toughens it and keeps the watering issues more moot.

I received more questions about dog urine and lawns following the last post, so here goes.

Yes, it is true, dog urine burns lawn grasses all the time. Everyone knows about it, it can be a frustrating experience seeing little burn spots pocking the landscape like bomb damage.  It is indeed an unfortunate event, but knowing why it does this is a probable help in dealing with it. The current urban myth says that female dogs have an innate chemical which is especially detrimental, but it is simply not true.  Male dogs tend to spread their urine out, busily marking shrubs and fire hydrants with all due diligence, thereby spreading their urine for functional effect. Meanwhile, while female dogs also “mark: certain things in a territorial way, they generally just unload their wastes in more decisive amounts, thus the myth of the Female Urine Problem.

The problem is in the nitrogen.  Waste products include high concentrations of nitrogen as byproducts of digestion.  What happens is almost as if you were “overfeeding” with a nitrogen fertilizer.  In many cases, studies have shown that by watering within 8 hours of a dog urinating on your lawn, you can reduce the damage substantially.  While no one is going to sit and hold a hose all day for owners who let their dogs pee in your grass, it is helpful to know that some consistent watering reduces the effects of dog urine enormously.  Indeed, if you own a female dog, or a male, for that matter who trashes some poor shrub daily, just water those sots they most frequent and you might avoid the worst of the damaging effects of all that compressed nitrogen. The burnt out spots always have a ring of intensely green grass around them, which should give us our best clue.  Water liberally if you spot it happening and avoid at least one of the spots  Knowledge is forewarning.  Using some common sense techniques to limiting the passage of dogs on your lots should be first and foremost in any prevention scheme..