Plant Profile: Festuca glauca

Taxonomy: Festuca glauca

Names

Blue Fescue, Common Blue Fescue, Elijah Blue

  • Photo of Festuca glauca (Festuca glaucas)

Phonetic Spelling:fes-TOO-kah GLAW-kah

Genus:Festuca

Species:glauca

Family:Poaceae

This plant is valued for its attractive blue-green leaves and can serve as either a ground cover or an accent in gardens. It is semi-evergreen but may struggle in heavy, poorly drained soils, often leading to die-off. To maintain its health, clumps should be divided every two to three years, with the option to replace or replant them as needed.

Festuca glauca Feature Summary

Festuca glauca Image Gallery

Tags

#ornamental grass

Similar Plants

Festuca glauca is often confused with:

Festuca glauca Feature Summary

Attributes
North East Spain to North West Italy and Southern France
Whole Plant Traits
Ornamental Grasses and Sedges
Mounding
Dense
Clumping
Cultural Conditions
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day)
Good Drainage
4a
4b
5b
5a
6a
6b
7a
7b
8b
8a
9a
9b
Fruit
Caryopsis
Flowers
Purple/Lavender
Gold/Yellow
Blue
Green
Spring
Summer
> 6 inches
Landscape
Drought Tolerant Garden
Rock Garden
Butterfly Garden
Cottage Garden
Border
Foundation Planting
Drought
Deer
Pollution
Dry Soil
Black Walnut
Poor Soil
Container
Walkways
Small Space
Butterflies

Festuca glauca Attributes

Festuca glauca: Country Or Region Of Origin

North East Spain to North West Italy and Southern France

Festuca glauca: Recommended Propagation Strategy

Division
Grafting
Layering
Leaf Cutting
Root Cutting
Seed
Stem Cutting

Festuca glauca Whole Plant Traits

Festuca glauca: Plant Type

Annual
Bulb
Carnivorous
Edible
Epiphyte
Fern
Ground Cover
Herb
Herbaceous Perennial
Houseplant
Mushroom
Native Plant
Ornamental Grasses and Sedges
Perennial
Poisonous
Rose
Shrub
Succulent
Tree
Turfgrass
Vegetable
Vine
Water Plant
Weed
Wildflower

Festuca glauca: Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics

Broadleaf Evergreen
Deciduous
Needled Evergreen
Semi-evergreen

Festuca glauca: Habit/Form

Arching
Ascending
Broad
Cascading
Climbing
Clumping
Columnar
Conical
Creeping
Dense
Erect
Horizontal
Irregular
Mounding
Multi-stemmed
Multi-trunked
Open
Oval
Prostrate
Pyramidal
Rounded
Spreading
Vase
Weeping

Festuca glauca: Maintenance

Low
Medium
High

Festuca glauca: Texture

Fine
Medium
Coarse

Festuca glauca Cultural Conditions

Festuca glauca: Light

Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day)
Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight)
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)

Festuca glauca: Soil Drainage

Frequent Standing Water
Good Drainage
Moist
Occasional Flooding
Occasionally Dry
Occasionally Wet
Very Dry

Festuca glauca: Available Space To Plant

12 inches-3 feet
12-24 feet
24-60 feet
3 feet-6 feet
6-feet-12 feet
Less than 12 inches
more than 60 feet

Festuca glauca: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone

thermostat
4a
thermostat
4b
thermostat
5a
thermostat
5b
thermostat
6a
thermostat
6b
thermostat
7a
thermostat
7b
thermostat
8a
thermostat
8b
thermostat
9a
thermostat
9b

Festuca glauca Fruit

Festuca glauca: Fruit Type

Achene
Aggregate
Berry
Capsule
Caryopsis
Drupe
Follicle
Legume
Nut
Pome
Samara
Schizocarp
Siliqua

Festuca glauca Flowers

Festuca glauca: Flower Color

filter_vintage
Blue
filter_vintage
Gold/Yellow
filter_vintage
Green
filter_vintage
Purple/Lavender

Festuca glauca: Flower Inflorescence

Catkin
Corymb
Cyme
Head
Insignificant
Panicle
Raceme
Solitary
Spadix
Spike
Umbel

Festuca glauca: Flower Bloom Time

Winter
Spring
Summer
Fall

Festuca glauca: Flower Size

1-3 inches
3-6 inches
< 1 inch
> 6 inches

Festuca glauca Leaves

Festuca glauca: Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics

Broadleaf Evergreen
Deciduous
Needled Evergreen
Semi-evergreen

Festuca glauca: Leaf Color

spa
Blue
spa
Green

Festuca glauca: Hairs Present

No
Yes

Festuca glauca: Leaf Feel

Fleshy
Glossy
Leathery
Papery
Prickly
Rough
Rubbery
Slippery
Smooth
Soft
Velvety
Waxy

Festuca glauca: Leaf Value To Gardener

Edible
Fragrant
Good Cut
Good Dried
Long-lasting
Showy

Festuca glauca Stem

Festuca glauca: Stem Is Aromatic

No
Yes

Festuca glauca Landscape

Festuca glauca: Landscape Theme

Asian Garden
Butterfly Garden
Children's Garden
Cottage Garden
Cutting Garden
Drought Tolerant Garden
Edible Garden
English Garden
Fairy Garden
Garden for the Blind
Native Garden
Nighttime Garden
Pollinator Garden
Rain Garden
Rock Garden
Shade Garden
Water Garden
Winter Garden

Festuca glauca: Design Feature

Accent
Barrier
Border
Flowering Tree
Foundation Planting
Hedge
Mass Planting
Screen/Privacy
Security
Shade Tree
Small groups
Small Tree
Specimen
Street Tree
Understory Tree

Festuca glauca: Resistance To Challenges

Black Walnut
Compaction
Deer
Diseases
Drought
Dry Soil
Erosion
Fire
Foot Traffic
Heat
Heavy Shade
Humidity
Insect Pests
Pollution
Poor Soil
Rabbits
Salt
Slugs
Squirrels
Storm damage
Urban Conditions
Voles
Wet Soil
Wind

Festuca glauca: Landscape Location

Coastal
Container
Hanging Baskets
Houseplants
Lawn
Meadow
Naturalized Area
Near Septic
Patio
Pond
Pool/Hardscape
Recreational Play Area
Riparian
Rock Wall
Slope/Bank
Small Space
Vertical Spaces
Walkways
Woodland

Festuca glauca: Attracts

Bats
Bees
Butterflies
Frogs
Hummingbirds
Moths
Pollinators
Predatory Insects
Reptiles
Small Mammals
Songbirds
Specialized Bees