After your newly seeded fescue Lawn is completed we recommend watering three times a day every day of the week, but only long enough each time to keep the seed wet. Glossary Auricle A short extension of the leaf blade that wraps partway around the stem. Annual bluegrass (Poa Annua) produce seedheads earlier in the spring and sometimes in the fall. Fescue toxicosis costs Missouri’s beef industry $160 million each year in reduced weaning weights, conception rates and milk production. Glume A tiny leaf-like structure enveloping the seed. Pull a stalk and hit the seed head lightly against your palm; if it releases seeds, you should harvest immediately. Tall Fescue with seed heads. He wanted wildlife habitat. It is important to turn the water off as soon as you begin to see it pool on the surface because watering to the point of creating run off can shift or flood your new seed. Awn A stiff, hair-like extension on some glumes. Height at seed head stage: 30 inches (USDA Plant Fact Sheet) Shade tolerance: Hard fescue tolerates a variety of light conditions, including shade (Beard 1973, Watschke 1990, Ruemmele et al. It’s persistent in the landscape. I call it the toxic waste of the grass kingdom. As seed heads emerge, toxic alkaloids concentrate in the seed. Seed heads of Kentucky 31 tall fescue present special risks when fed to cattle. Check the seed heads to determine whether the seeds are ready for harvest. 2003) Suggested mowing height: Hard fescue does not tolerate mowing <1 inch (Beard Prairie grass seed isn’t competitive, so it’s best planted with other cool-season grasses. Leaves. Planting turf-type tall fescue under the best possible conditions gives your seeding project a distinct advantage. for fescue seed head suppression? Cattle, horses, sheep, goats and various wildlife enjoy munching on this tasty grass, which is often included in pasture mixtures with fescue, Bermuda grass and orchardgrass. K-31 is the most widely used grass in Missouri pastures. • Fescue remains in a vegetative growth stage for the remainder of the season. Sheath POA seems to have mutliple seeds along the branches. Seedhead development usually occurs on cool season grasses such as Perennial Ryegrass, Kentucky Bluegrass and Tall Fescue during this time of year. I know it was already identified, but based on the image tool nycjsw provided it definitely appears to be fescue. Growing and Managing Prairie Grass. 2. It is difficult to get rid of. Grasses can easily be identified by looking at the leaves, stems and inflorescences (seed heads). The drawings on the following pages show things to check when looking at each of these plant parts. Collar A light-colored band of tissue opposite the ligule, on the outer side of the grass leaf. A leaf consists of 2 parts - the sheath and the blade (see Figure 1). It does, however, combine well with alfalfa. 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