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Turf Type Tall Fescues View Our Tall Fescues Varieties

Tall Fescue Specifications
  • Seeding Rate: 8-10 lbs./1,000 sq. ft.
  • Germination: 8-14 days
  • Growth habit: bunch type, tillers, some with Rhizomes
  • Approx. Seeds per lb: 225,000
  • Blade: 2-5 mm, broad, spear
  • Uses: (Turf Type) Lawns, Athletic Field, Commercial, Slopes, Parks & Recreation, Reclamation. Ideal Sun or Shade.
  • Identification: Deep rooted, cool-season perennial bunchgrass. Grows from tillers. Leaf blades are glossy on the underside and serrated on the margins. Leaf blades may be wide with a rolled vernation (stem), blades smooth on turf-type, coarse on others.
  • Establishment: Somewhat slow, but not as slow as bluegrass. Needs plentiful water to establish, then very drought tolerant.

 

Falcon III Turf Type Tall Fescue
Falcon III Turf Type Tall Fescue
  • Heat Tolerance: Screened for improved heat and drought tolerance
  • Disease Resistance: Very good resistance to brown patch, net blotch and pythium
  • Moderate tolerance to red thread
  • Fast to recover from injury
  • Color: Deep, dark green color facilitates reduced fertilizer maintenance
  • Texture: Moderately fine leaf texture and shorter vertical growth habit for less mowing and better groomed appearance
Falcon IV Turf Type Tall Fescue
  • 92% endophyte enhanced which provides resistance to a number of leaf and crown feeding insects and nematodes
  • Improved heat & disease resistance
  • Provides dark green and fine textured wear tolerant turf
Finelawn Elite Turf Type Tall Fescue
  • Unique short dwarf and dense growth trait
  • Fine textured with excellent wear tolerance
  • 70% endophyte enhanced for better resistance to insects and nematodes
  • Provides superior turf quality across a wide range of growing conditions
Gazelle Turf Type Tall Fescue
  • Semi-dwarf, lower growing habit
  • Excellent shade tolerance
  • High summer density
  • Dark green color
Scorpion 2 Turf Type Tall Fescue
  • Deep dark green, elegant turf quality
  • Double dwarf, short canopy height, reduced mowing
  • Fully endophyte enhanced
  • Brown patch resistance
Shenandoah II Turf Type Tall Fescue

  • Second generation tall fescue, legendary name and performance
  • Dark green turf, excellent sod strength
  • Fully endophyte enhanced
  • Semi-dwarf, multiple pest and disease resistance
Type Tall Fescue Descriptions
Standard Turf Type
Heirloom varieties of turf type tall fescue with improved turf quality. These varieties have greater basal tiller density, shorter plant height and darker green color than forage type tall fescues such as KY-31. These varieties would be labeled as "forage type" by lawn care professionals today.
Semi Dwarf Turf Type
Improved turf type tall fescues with significant improvement in turf quality, turf color and disease and insect resistance. Various levels of endophyte content, Neotyphodium coenophialum, which provides natural resistance to leaf, crown feeding insects and nematodes and contributes to improved abiotic and biotic stress tolerance.
Double Dwarf Turf Type
This group of turf type tall fescue varieties have distinctly shorter early spring and late fall canopy height.  Double dwarfs have been improperly sold as “reduced clipping varieties.”  University tests indicate that yearly grass clippings of double dwarf vs. semi dwarf tall fescues are statistically the same under similar management programs.  Only recently have breeders developed double dwarf tall fescues that exhibit moderate to good resistance to brown patch the most limiting factor to tall fescue persistence in the Mid South of USA.
Rhizomatous Type
Turf type tall fescue spreads by means of basal tillers not rhizomes as found in Kentucky Bluegrass.  Breeders have identified and developed varieties with frequency distribution of plants that produce underground stems similar to Kentucky Bluegrass.  Falcon IV and Six Point have been identified as having the presence of rhizomes.
Spreading Type-STF
STF (Spreading Tall Fescue) – New from ProSeeds in 2007.  In contrast to rhizomatous varieties this material spreads by aggressive horizontal basal tillering.  STF material has crown circumference 2-3 times greater than improved semi-dwarf tall fescue varieties.  Tiller density, turf quality and color is better than most improved turf type tall fescues.

Forage Type European

This germplasm originates in more northern regions of the European continent.  These varieties have winter dormant growth habit and exhibit excellent summer stay-green for forage production systems in the Mid South of USA.
Forage Type Mediterranean
This germplasm originates in southern coastal regions of Europe along the Mediterranean where winters are mild and dry.  Mediterranean varieties have a distinct flush of winter growth, respond positively to short day length and mild spring temperatures.  This material has very poor summer stay-green potential in the Mid South USA.
Tall Fescue Traits
 
COLOR
MOWING
TRAFFIC
TYPE
NITROGEN
SHADE
RHIZOMES
DROUGHT
ENDOPHYTE
Dark Green 1 3/4-3" Very Good Semi-dwarf 4-6 lb. per M Annual Very Good No Excellent 60%+
Very Dark Green 1 3/4-3" Very Good Semi-dwarf 4-6 lb. per M Annual Very Good Yes (7-13%) Excellent 92%+
Very Dark Green 1 3/4-3" Very Good Double-dwarf 4-6 lb. per M Annual Very Good No Excellent 70%+
Dark Green 1 3/4-3" Very Good Semi-dwarf 4-6 lb. per M Annual Very Good No Excellent 60%+
Very Dark Green 1 3/4-3" Very Good Double-dwarf 4-6 lb. per M Annual Very Good No Excellent 95%+
Very Dark Green 1 3/4-3" Very Good Semi-dwarf 4-6 lb. per M Annual Very Good No Excellent 93%+
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Des Moines Forage & Turf Seed Corp., 2302 SE Creekview Dr. Ste. #6, Ankeny, IA 50021 515-965-4425800-810-1618