Low maintenance performance of five Festuca species in monostands and mixtures

A 3-yr field study evaluated the performance of monostands and mixtures of 'Flyer' creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra L. ssp. rubra), 'Jamestown II' Chewings fescue (Festuca rubra L. ssp. commutata Gaud.), 'Bighorn' blue sheep fescue (Festuca ovina L. ssp. glauca) [Lain.] W.D.J. Koch), 'Reliant' hard rescue (Festuca longifolia Thuill.), and 'Rebel II' tall rescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.). The fescues were grown without supplemental irrigation or fertilizer after seedlings emerged. The turf was managed under two mowing regimes: Regime I, mowing as needed to a height of 6.5 cm and Regime II, mowing monthly to a height of 9.0 cm. Spring turf quality was higher with Regime I, whereas, fall quality was generally higher in turf maintained in Regime II. There was no difference in summer or winter quality between mowing regimes in any year. Flyer and Jamestown II monostands generally had quality inferior to mixtures containing these cultivars with other Festuca species. The Rebel II monostand and Rebel II + Flyer mixture had best summer quality in 1993 and 1995 in Regime I. Reliant, Bighorn, and Rebel II monostands and Reliant + Flyer and Rebel II + Flyer mixtures generally exhibited similar summer quality in all years in Regime M. There was no apparent advantage to including Flyer or Jamestown II in mixes with other Festuca species. Mowing Regime II (average seven mowings per year) resulted in a 40% reduction in mowing frequency compared with Regime I (average 13 mowings per year). Smooth crabgrass [Digitaria Ischaemum (Schreber) Schreber ex. Muhlenb.] became invasive in Regime I plots in the second year, but crabgrass cover remained low (≤2%) in all plots maintained in Regime II in all years.