California Fescue, Festuca californica

About California Fescue (Festuca californica) 77 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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This species of grass is native to California and Oregon, where it is a member of many plant communities, including chaparral. This fescue is a clumping perennial without rhizomes. The rough leaves are narrow but can be quite long. The flower cluster holds spikelets, each 1/2 to 1 inch long.

The plant reproduces from seed and from buds located at the base of the clump. It is used for revegetating grassland that has been cleared or claimed by non-native grasses.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Grasses

Size

1.3 - 4 ft tall
3 ft wide

Form

Upright, Fountain

Growth Rate

Fast, Moderate

Dormancy

Evergreen

Fragrance

None

Flower Color

Yellow

Flowering Season

Spring, Winter

Wildlife Supported

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 8 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Common Ringlet Coenonympha tulliaCoenonympha tullia

Sandhill Skipper Polites sabuletiPolites sabuleti

Sonora Skipper Polites sonoraPolites sonora

Mardon Skipper Polites mardonPolites mardon

Lindsey's Skipper Hesperia lindseyiHesperia lindseyi

Nevada Skipper Hesperia nevadaHesperia nevada

Yellow-Collared Scape Moth Cisseps fulvicollisCisseps fulvicollis

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Sun, Part Shade

Moisture

Very Low

Summer Irrigation

Max 3x / month once established

Nurseries

Carried by 77

Ease of Care

Very Easy

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to 30° F

Soil Drainage

Fast, Medium, Slow

Soil Description

Prefers loamy or clay soils. Grows poorly in sandy soils.. Tolerates Serpentine Soil. Soil PH: 6.0 - 7.2

Common uses

Groundcovers, Deer Resistant

Companion Plants

This is a large clumping grass, so use with shrubs that won't be overwhelmed by it, such as Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), Lemonade Berry (Rhus integrifolia), larger Ceanothus, Manzanita species, or Scrub Oaks.

Sunset Zones?

4, 5, 6, 7*, 8, 9, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

Natural Setting

Site Type

Open places

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 12.8" - 143.7", Summer Precipitation: 0.19" - 5.56", Coldest Month: 29.5" - 56.0", Hottest Month: 51.7" - 76.3", Humidity: 0.14" - 25.33", Elevation: 13" - 8689"

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

California Fescue

Festuca californica

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California FescueFestuca californica

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California Fescue

Festuca californica