← Bedfellow

California Fescue

Festuca californica

Graceful blue-green evergreen bunchgrass with airy, arching flower stalks. One of the best native grasses for dry shade beneath oaks. Like other fescues, the seed has documented use as a ground-flour grain.

Family

Poaceae

Type

grass

Lifespan

perennial

Height

4–4 ft

Spacing

1–2 ft apart

Light

part shade

Soil moisture

dry, moist

Soil pH

acidic, neutral

Bloom

March, April, May, June, July

Bloom colors

yellow

Wildlife value

songbirds, larval host

Landscape uses

specimen, border, naturalizing

Native states

CA, OR, WA