FINE FESCUE

Blue Mesa Sheep’s Fescue is a true Sheep’s, which is very limited in the market these days. It offers good drought tolerance and an attractive, soft blue-gray leaf color. Columbia Seeds

TALL FESCUE

Cardinal II creeping red fescue scored high in all turf quality ratings of the NTEP, including color. It is a dark green cultivar that has excellent low mow ability and improved salt tolerance. Mountain View Seeds

Birmingham tall fescue was carefully selected from plants found surviving harsh conditions in the Deep South. These plants were crossed with elite genetics and then carefully screened for finer leaf texture, good lateral growth, and most importantly, excellent drought resistance. This combination of traits has made Birmingham a grass adapted to a wide region with outstanding performance. Grassland Oregon

Corbett tall fescue (tested as 304) is a new Rutgers-developed variety that is very well adapted to hot summers, lower fertility soils, shade, and tough use situations. It has excellent summer performance and excellent stress tolerance. Trials at Rutgers in New Jersey have demonstrated the broad overall disease resistance and stress tolerance of Corbett. It has very good resistance to brown patch, leaf spot, Pythium and stem rust. Corbett has performed very well in high traffic trials once it is well established. Vista Seed Partners

Compass II chewings fescue has excellent shade tolerance. It ranked at the top of the turf quality ratings under low mow conditions. Compass II has excellent disease resistance and improved salt tolerance. Mountain View Seeds

Jetty hard fescue ranked highest in the NTEP for shade tolerance. It can withstand low mowing and is one of the darkest hard fescues available. In addition, it has excellent disease resistance and drought tolerance. Mountain View Seeds

Bonsai 2X 2017 introduces to the world the fifth incarnation of the famous “Bonsai” series of tall fescues. Bonsai 2X tall fescue is the culmination of more than 20 years of breeding desirable dark green plants, with reduced upright growth, while improving disease and drought resistance. This will be the first in the “Bonsai” series that has been qualified by the Turfgrass Water Conservation Alliance (TWCA). Bonsai 2X is so designated because it will maintain its attractive turf with only two waterings each week. TWCA qualified grasses can save as much as 40 percent water over non- qualified varieties. Turf Merchants, Inc. (TMI)

Olympus is a fine leafed tall fescue, which was selected for its dark color and year-round turf density. This lush turf makes for a very durable surface that has shown good results in traffic simulations throughout the year. Olympus is the right choice, no matter if you plant it by itself, as part of a tall fescue mixture, or with Kentucky bluegrass. That’s why Olympus is a tall fescue worthy of the Gods. Grassland Oregon

SeaMist slender creeping red fescue has excellent turf quality, ranking #1 in the recent NTEP trial. SeaMist is very dense and is highly salt tolerant. SeaMist also has early spring green up. Mountain View Seeds

Copious tall fescue has a unique dark green color, with an exceptionally fine textured leaf for superior turf quality. Copious has shown increased disease resistance to Brown Patch and improved heat tolerance. Copious is extremely dense to aid in the repair of small areas of damaged turf. SiteOne’s two new turf-type tall fescues show promising advancements in drought resistance, and are showcased in the 2016 NTEP Water Use & Cool-Season Drought Trials. SiteOne Landscape Supply

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Padre 2 tall fescue is proving to have rapid germination with superior seedling vigor. Padre 2 is dark green with a unique compact (dwarf-type) growth habit and improved shade tolerance. Padre 2 has a spreading growth habit to aid in repair of small areas of damaged turf. SiteOne’s two new turf-type tall fescues show promising advancements in drought resistance, and are showcased in the 2016 NTEP Water Use & Cool-Season Drought Trials. SiteOne Landscape Supply

TPI Turf News July/August 2017