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Grass Like

Festuca vivipara glauca

viviparous blue fescue

Compact, clump-forming, perennial grass forming clumps of grey-green linear leaves and upright stems bearing root-producing vegetative growths (mid to bright green plantlets) produced from within grey-green spikelets in summer and autumn

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Ultimate height

0.1–0.5 metres

Time to ultimate height

2–5 years

Ultimate spread

0.1–0.5 metres

Chalk

Loam

Sand

Moisture

Well–drained

pH

Acid, Alkaline, Neutral

	Stem	Flower	Foliage	Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Full sun

Aspect

South–facing or West–facing

Exposure

Exposed or Sheltered

Drought resistance

Yes

Hardiness
Hardiness ratings
All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets
H1a: under glass all year (>15C)
H1b: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
H1c: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)

Botanical details

Family: Poaceae
Native to GB / Ireland: No
Foliage: Evergreen
Habit: Tufted, Clump forming
Genus: Festuca can be herbaceous or evergreen, rhizomatous grasses with linear, often strikingly coloured, leaves, and dense or lax panicles of brownish flowers in summer
Name status: Unresolved

How to grow

Cultivation

Grow in poor to moderately fertile, well-drained soil in full sun. Clumps tend to die out in the middle, so ideally divide every three years. See ornamental grasses cultivation advice

Propagation

Propagate by plantlets or by division in spring

Suggested planting locations and garden types

Coastal
Cottage and informal garden
Gravel garden
Banks and slopes
Flower borders and beds
Ground cover

Pruning

Tidy up in spring by combing any dead foliage out of the middle of plant

Pests

Generally pest-free

Diseases

Generally disease-free

Get involved

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