Slow the Rush to Tall Fescues in the North

By Curt Harler

Whether you are in dry Phoenix where, ironically, rainfall was above normal this year; or in droughty Illinois, where turf suffered through the summer, odds are good you are looking at tall fescues for your next renovation.

If you are one of the dozens of superintendents looking for a drought-resistant tall fescue, don’t call NTEP (the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program) quite yet.

That flush of interest in tall fescues has gone farther and farther North … even into Canada. Fescues are deep-rooted, drought resistant grasses that have gotten much recent acclaim (including here in TurfGrass Trends). However, superintendents seem bent-for-leather on putting out tall fescue in areas where it traditionally is not seen.

Pause a moment. The same thing happened several years ago with Bermudagrasses. They are noted for being heat tolerant. Fairways were flooded with Bermuda. Then came that one-in-eight or one-in-ten year harsh winter and a lot of golf courses lost their fairways.

NTEP put out a tall fescue test that concluded in 2011. The fifth and final year was 2011 and, to assure drought stress, researchers did not irrigate any plots at all.

“We are still analyzing the data,” says Kevin Morris, executive director of NTEP, promising that they are crunching numbers as fast as they can. Since there are gobs of data to analyze, it will take them longer to work the tall fescue numbers than it would if it were a simple two-year test.

“Interest runs in cycles,” Morris says. This year caused the wave to crest. Indeed, more tall fescues are coming through NTEP tests. A few years back, the industry saw overproduction of tall fescue seed. Suppliers cut back. Today, the demand cycle has returned.

That is a good thing in areas where tall fescues are a proven plant. If you are on those Northern fringe areas, however, it might be a good idea to consider any tall fescue areas as test plots – at least until you are sure the lines you have chosen are proof against that one-in-ten winter.