WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Festuca ovina and cvs., WUCOLS IV

How often to water sheep fescue in California

In July in the Central Valley, established sheep fescue needs about 1.9 gallons a week for a plant 2 feet across. Sheep fescue is a cool-season bunchgrass that forms neat tufts of fine, tightly rolled leaves, up to about a foot tall and wide. Leaves run from green to blue-green, and slender flower stems rise well above them in summer. It grows mostly in the cool seasons, needs well-drained soil and does best with regular deep watering through the dry months.

Ornamental grassRated for 6 of 6 zones

How often to water sheep fescue, month by month

Your city
Plant width
2 ft
Your soil

Type your city above and the days between waterings and the gallons appear here, worked out from your city's climate table. Or read the figures by climate zone further down.

Every month, on your water days. The personal plan prints this for sheep fescue and the rest of your yard, on the days your water supplier allows.Get the plan for $19

How this is worked out: the plant’s WUCOLS rating times your city’s climate for the month, over the area the plant covers. Skip a watering after a good soaking rain.

Which soil do you have?

Dig down a few inches, take a handful of moist soil and squeeze it.

  • Sandy: gritty, falls apart when you open your hand, will not form a ball.
  • Loam: forms a soft ball that crumbles when you poke it.
  • Clay: forms a firm, sticky ball and squeezes out into a ribbon between thumb and finger.

Still not sure? Pick loam. Most garden beds sit between sand and clay.

How to measure plant width

A shrub with its width marked from one side to the other and the circle under it shaded blue

Measure across the plant, from the tips of the leaves on one side to the tips on the other.

Water the whole area the plant covers, shown in blue. The gallons here cover that area.

A wider plant means more gallons each watering, not more waterings. While it is young, measure again each spring.

How to tell it needs water

  • When a trowel pushed in beside a tuft brings up dry soil from 2 inches down, the clump is ready for water
  • Soil still soggy around the tufts a day after watering means too much water for a grass that needs sharp drainage
  • Slow growth in a long hot spell is the normal summer slowdown of a cool-season grass, not always a sign of thirst
  • Brown, hollow centers in older clumps come from age and heat stress, and dividing them works better than extra water
  • Rusty spots on the leaves point to rust disease rather than a watering problem

How to water it

  • Aim drip emitters or a gentle soaker at the base of each tuft rather than spraying the whole bed
  • Give each watering time to reach roughly 6 inches deep, and hold off until the upper 2 inches have dried
  • Plant in loam or sand that drains freely, in full sun or part shade
  • Keep mulch and soil pulled back from the crown of each tuft
  • Divide tired clumps in spring or fall, never while they rest in summer heat, and water the new pieces well

Through the seasons

Water new tufts regularly until they root in, ideally after a spring or fall planting. As a cool-season grass, sheep fescue grows in spring and fall and often slows down or goes dormant in steady summer heat. Do not divide or move it then. The foliage is evergreen, and very cold weather can turn it blue-green. WUCOLS rates sheep fescue moderate water on the north-central coast, in the Central Valley and in South Inland. On the south coast it rates low water. The high desert and the low desert also carry a moderate water rating. Winter rain usually carries established clumps on the coast and in the Central Valley.

In pots

Sheep fescue makes a tidy tuft for a shallow bowl, a trough or the edge of a mixed planter. Choose a fresh, sandy potting mix and a container with open drainage holes. In summer heat, press a finger into the mix every couple of days and water once the top inch is dry. Pour until water drains out, and never let the pot stand in a full saucer. Comb out dead leaves in spring. Through winter, water only when the mix has dried.

1 Your climate zone six WUCOLS zones, each from its own reference city
2.67gal per sq ft in JulyModerate water use in the Central Valley zone
A year
17.11 gal per sq ft
Reference
Sacramento climate table
Counts
Plant need, before sprinkler losses
0.761.52.33.00.4JAN0.65FEB1.09MAR1.52APR2.08MAY2.48JUN2.67JUL2.39AUG1.8SEP1.18OCT0.56NOV0.34DEC0.761.52.33.00.4JFM1.52AMJ2.67JAS1.18OND
Gallons per square foot per month, Central Valley. Peak 2.67 in Jul, 17.11 a year.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Sheep Fescue: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.370.40.310.780.740.78
Feb0.530.650.320.870.930.93
Mar0.871.090.461.31.461.52
Apr1.181.520.561.611.891.95
May1.462.080.641.952.392.45
Jun1.612.480.692.292.852.79
Jul1.612.670.792.513.042.85
Aug1.492.390.742.332.792.6
Sep1.241.80.61.862.142.08
Oct0.871.180.461.331.461.49
Nov0.470.560.330.90.930.96
Dec0.310.340.260.680.650.68
Year1217.116.218.4121.2721.08

How this is worked out: the WUCOLS water rating for each zone times that zone’s climate for the month. A dash means WUCOLS does not rate the plant there. The figures are what the plant uses, before sprinkler losses.

Plants with the same water needs 7

Rated moderate water in the Central Valley, like sheep fescue. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

Tall Oat GrassArrhenatherum elatiusmoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyPurple Moor GrassMolinia caeruleamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyCreeping Red FescueFestuca rubra ssp. & cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyEulalia GrassMiscanthus sinensis ssp. & cvsmoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulySwitch GrassPanicum virgatum ssp. & cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyBlack PennisetumPennisetum alopecuroides ssp. & cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyBlood GrassImperata cylindrica ssp. & cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in July

Similar plants that need less water 7

Rated lower than sheep fescue in the Central Valley. Worth a look for a new bed or a lawn replacement.

Quaking GrassBriza medialow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyTufted HairgrassDeschampsia cespitosa and cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyJune GrassKoeleria macrantha (cristata)low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyFalse Esparto GrassLygeum spartumlow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyBlue FescueFestuca glauca ssp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyBaltic RushJuncus balticuslow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyGiant Needle GrassStipa gigantealow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in July
Minutes for your sprinklers

Turn this into minutes on your water days

Every city page has a calculator that takes sheep fescue, your sprinkler type and the month, and gives the minutes per water day for that supplier's schedule. Or put it in a zone of the personal watering plan and get all twelve months printed.

Questions people ask

How much should I water sheep fescue in summer?

In July, established sheep fescue needs about 1.9 gallons in the Central Valley, 0.6 gallons on the south coast and 1.8 gallons in the South Inland zone each week, for a plant 2 feet across. Water deeply and let the top of the soil dry before the next watering. Skip a watering after a soaking rain.

How much water does sheep fescue need per day?

In July in the Central Valley, established sheep fescue needs about 0.3 gallons a day for a plant 2 feet across and about 1.1 gallons a day for a plant 4 feet across. Give it in deep waterings spread days apart rather than a little every day, so the whole root zone gets wet.

Does watering for sheep fescue change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates sheep fescue separately for each of the six California climate zones: moderate water in the North-Central Coastal zone, moderate water in the Central Valley zone, low water in the South Coastal zone, moderate water in the South Inland zone, moderate water in the High and Intermediate Desert zone, moderate water in the Low Desert zone. The monthly table above shows how the same rating translates into different gallon amounts as reference evapotranspiration changes.

Why is my fescue dying in the middle?

The center of a clump commonly dies out after several years, faster when the plant is heat stressed. Lift it in spring or fall, tear off healthy outer pieces and replant them. Named cultivars should be renewed by division rather than grown from seed.

Is sheep fescue good for slopes?

Yes. It is a good plant for erosion control, and its dense tufts suit banks, rock gardens and gravel plantings. Plant tufts close together on a slope and water them until they root.

Should I cut back sheep fescue?

Comb dead leaves out with gloved fingers in spring, and trim off damaged older foliage. A badly worn clump can be cut back by two-thirds in fall or spring. It regrows during its cool-season growth spurts.

Can sheep fescue be used as a lawn?

It can be grown as a rough, informal turf. Fescues used as lawn substitutes need mowing only a few times a year. Expect a tufted, meadow look rather than a smooth carpet.

Is blue fescue the same as sheep fescue?

Blue fescue is sold both as a blue-leaved form of sheep fescue and as a separate species. Both are small, tufted, cool-season grasses that want good drainage.

Can you overwater sheep fescue?

Yes. It needs well-drained soil, and ground that stays soggy works against it. Let the surface dry between waterings, and keep mulch off the crown.

More plant watering guides

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Sources