WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Festuca amethystina, WUCOLS IV

How often to water tufted fescue in California

In July on the north-central coast, established tufted fescue needs about 1.1 gallons a week for a plant 2 feet across. Tufted fescue, also called large blue fescue, is a cool-season ornamental grass. It forms dense tufts of rolled, thread-like, blue-green to blue-silver leaves 1.5 to 2 feet tall and wide. Small green flower spikes tinted pink-purple rise in early summer. It wants full sun and well-drained soil, and wet winter soil harms it.

Ornamental grassRated for 3 of 6 zones

How often to water tufted 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 tufted 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

  • Thread-like leaves curling tight and turning straw colored in summer heat suggest the clump wants water
  • Clumps dying out in the center after a few years is normal aging
  • Foliage declining in hot, humid weather is a summer slump that a cutback can fix
  • Rotting crowns after a wet winter point to poor drainage

How to water it

  • Water regularly until established, then much less
  • Water deeply and let the soil dry well between waterings
  • Plant in full sun in well-drained soil
  • Cut foliage back to 3 to 4 inches in early spring
  • Divide and replant clumps every 2 to 3 years

Through the seasons

Water new plants regularly and consistently until roots settle. Once established, it needs little water, just deep soaks in long dry spells. It grows most in the cool seasons and can slump in hot, humid summers, when a cutback refreshes it. Winter rain is enough, and soggy winter soil is the main danger. WUCOLS rates tufted fescue moderate water on the north-central coast, on the south coast and in South Inland. WUCOLS has not evaluated it for the Central Valley, the high desert or the low desert.

In pots

Tufted fescue makes a neat blue accent in a pot of gritty, well-drained mix in full sun. Water when the top couple of inches dry, letting it drain fully. In summer, small pots can need water every couple of days. Never leave water in the saucer, since wet roots rot. Trim it back in early spring. In winter, keep the mix on the dry side, especially in rainy spells.

1 Your climate zone six WUCOLS zones, each from its own reference city
Not ratedWUCOLS does not rate Tufted Fescue for the Central Valley zone
A year
no figure
Reference
Sacramento climate table
Counts
Plant need, before sprinkler losses

WUCOLS lists Tufted Fescue as not evaluated for the Central Valley zone, so no monthly figure is computed here.

Monthly water need by climate zone

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

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.37–0.780.78––
Feb0.53–0.810.87––
Mar0.87–1.151.3––
Apr1.18–1.41.61––
May1.46–1.611.95––
Jun1.61–1.742.29––
Jul1.61–1.982.51––
Aug1.49–1.862.33––
Sep1.24–1.491.86––
Oct0.87–1.151.33––
Nov0.47–0.840.9––
Dec0.31–0.650.68––
Year12–15.518.41––

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 8

Rated not evaluated in the Central Valley, like tufted fescue. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

Clublawn GrassCorynephorus canescensnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingBlue Hair GrassKoeleria glaucanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingGolden Wood MilletMilium effusumnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingCommon ReedPhragmites australisnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingPlume GrassSaccharum ravennae (Erianthus ravennae)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingSand RyegrassLeymus arenariusnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingGolden Meadow FoxtailAlopecurus pratensis 'Aureus'not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingVariegated Water GrassGlyceria maxima 'Variegata'not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley rating
Minutes for your sprinklers

Turn this into minutes on your water days

Every city page has a calculator that takes tufted 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 tufted fescue in summer?

In July, established tufted fescue needs about 1.4 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 tufted fescue need per day?

In July on the north-central coast, established tufted fescue needs about 0.2 gallons a day for a plant 2 feet across and about 0.7 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 tufted fescue change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates tufted fescue separately for each of the six California climate zones: moderate water in the North-Central Coastal zone, not evaluated in the Central Valley zone, moderate water in the South Coastal zone, moderate water in the South Inland zone, not evaluated in the High and Intermediate Desert zone, not evaluated 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?

It is short-lived and clumps die out in the center. Divide and replant every 2 to 3 years. Discard the dead middle.

When should I cut back tufted fescue?

Cut foliage back to 3 to 4 inches in early spring. You can also cut it back if it declines in summer. New blades follow.

Can tufted fescue grow in shade?

It tolerates light shade, but the blue color fades. Full sun keeps it bright. Shade also keeps soil wetter.

Why did my fescue rot over winter?

Wet soil in winter can be very harmful. Plant in well-drained soil. Avoid winter watering.

Can tufted fescue be a groundcover?

It spreads slowly, so plant densely, 8 to 10 inches apart. Species plants may self-seed. Fill gaps with divisions.

More plant watering guides

Seven Sons TreeGibraltar CandytuftBox-leaved HollyPrivet-Leaved JasmineBellyache BushMountain LaurelBlue Hair GrassChilean Bellflower

Sources