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Festuca muelleri (Mueller's Fescue) - An evergreen clumping fescue that holds shiny, dark green hair-like foliage with a hint of bluish green. This cool season grass grows up to 8 inches tall and equally wide. Forms a dense clumping mat and can be used as an unclipped lawn or ground cover. The flowers, not particularly showy or profuse, emerge bluish green in June and fade to a buff color at maturity.
Grows best in a well-drained soil in full sun with regular irrigation but semi-drought tolerant once established. It is very hardy plant, tolerating to USDA zone 4. Makes an excellent garden filler and fits in rock gardens perfectly. It does not like heavy, wet soils, especially in hot climates. For hot inland climates, part day shade or light shade is ideal. It is more heat tolerant than the greener Festuca tenuifolium. Somewhat drought resistant once established.
The origin of this taxa is a bit of a mystery. The Royal Botanic Garden Kew database lists the current treatment of Festuca muelleri as being a grass native to Australia but that plant, described as a coarse tussock grass with rough leaves coming from subalpine areas of the Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria, is certainly not the plant we grow under this name. Our stock of this plant came to labeled as Festuca muelleri from Bluemel Nursery in 1985 and was listed of European origin. In John Greenlee's Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses Festuca muelleri is also listed as being from Europe yet Flora Europa and other scientific references make no reference to a European grass by this name. Kurt Bluemel (1933-2014), from whom we got this plant, considered the King of Grasses (Der Gras König) and been introducing and growing ornamental grasses at his Maryland nursery , Kurt Bluemel, Inc, since 1964. As such we long assumed this plant correctly named but apparently it was not, though what its real name should be is a big questuon though this grass is still listed under this name by Bluemel's nursery and by us.
The information about Festuca muelleri that is displayed on this web page is based on research conducted in our nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We will also include observations made about this plant as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We also incorporate comments that we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they share cultural information that aids others growing this plant.
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