My Deer Garden

Plant record · Ornamental grass

Is Blue Fescue deer resistant?

Festuca glauca

Neat blue-grey tufts of blue fescue
Photo by Averater, CC BY 4.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.
Damage step 1 of 4 · Rarely Damaged

Yes. Deer almost always leave this alone.

Type
Ornamental grass
Hardiness
Zones 4–8
Light
Full sun
Height
9–12 in
Bloom
Summer
Maintenance
Moderate

Damage steps follow a published university field scale. How plants are rated.

About Blue Fescue

Neat blue-gray tufts that deer ignore, useful for edging and for repeating through a gravel planting.

It is short-lived by nature and dies out from the center after three or four years, leaving a ring of living grass around a dead middle. That is not a disease and not something you did. Lift, split the living outer sections and replant, discarding the dead core.

Color is best in poor dry ground and full sun. Rich soil turns it greener and softer and shortens its life further.

Comb the dead thatch out with your fingers in spring rather than cutting it back hard. It is evergreen and does not regrow from a stub the way a deciduous grass does.

Soil and care

Soil pH
6 to 7.5
Drainage
Sharp, gritty. Will rot in wet soil
Water
Low
Spacing
10 to 14 in apart
Growth rate
Slow
Maintenance
Moderate

Similar to Blue Fescue

Other ornamental grasss with the same deer rating.

Where Blue Fescue is used

One guide on this site plants it, and says where and what beside it.

Where Blue Fescue grows

Hardy across 50 states on zone range alone. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering. Select any state, including one it will not grow in, for what is resistant there.

Alabama — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Alaska — hardy here. Zones 1 to 8.Arizona — hardy here. Zones 5 to 10.Arkansas — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.California — hardy here. Zones 7 to 10.Colorado — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Connecticut — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Delaware — hardy here. Zones 7 to 7.District of Columbia — hardy here. Zones 7 to 8.Florida — hardy here. Zones 8 to 11.Georgia — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Hawaii — not hardy here. Zones 9 to 12.Idaho — hardy here. Zones 3 to 7.Illinois — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Indiana — hardy here. Zones 5 to 6.Iowa — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Kansas — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Kentucky — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.Louisiana — hardy here. Zones 8 to 10.Maine — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Maryland — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Massachusetts — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Michigan — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Minnesota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Mississippi — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.Missouri — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Montana — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.Nebraska — hardy here. Zones 4 to 6.Nevada — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.New Hampshire — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.New Jersey — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.New Mexico — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.New York — hardy here. Zones 4 to 7.North Carolina — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.North Dakota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 4.Ohio — hardy here. Zones 5 to 6.Oklahoma — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Oregon — hardy here. Zones 6 to 9.Pennsylvania — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Rhode Island — hardy here. Zones 6 to 7.South Carolina — hardy here. Zones 7 to 9.South Dakota — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Tennessee — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Texas — hardy here. Zones 6 to 9.Utah — hardy here. Zones 4 to 9.Vermont — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Virginia — hardy here. Zones 6 to 8.Washington — hardy here. Zones 5 to 8.West Virginia — hardy here. Zones 5 to 7.Wisconsin — hardy here. Zones 3 to 5.Wyoming — hardy here. Zones 3 to 6.
Hardy on zone rangeNot hardy — still linked
Choose a state from the listeasier on a phone

Common questions about Blue Fescue

Is Blue Fescue deer resistant?
Blue Fescue (Festuca glauca) is rated Rarely Damaged, step 1 of 4 on the damage scale this site uses. Deer almost always leave this alone.
What hardiness zones does Blue Fescue grow in?
Blue Fescue is hardy in USDA zones 4 to 8. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat.
Does Blue Fescue grow in shade?
No. Blue Fescue wants full sun and will grow thin and flop in shade.
How big does Blue Fescue get?
Mature height is roughly 9–12 in. Growth rate is slow.

Browse from here

Every list Blue Fescue belongs to.

All ornamental grasss·Rarely damaged·Full sun plants

Hardy in these zones

Zone 4·Zone 5·Zone 6·Zone 7·Zone 8

Damage ratings follow the four-step field scale published by Rutgers University. Growing data is compiled from state extension sources and still being verified record by record. Last reviewed .