5LBS Creeping Red Fescue(Festuca Rubra) Fully Tested, Fast Germination

This stuff was *amazing*!! I planted when the weather was probably a little too cool so it took about two weeks for it to really get going but it sure did come out beautiful. I was so pleased with all of the tiny little blades growing out from the dirt, then the subsequent lush green grass that followed. Did not come in patchy at all. I tilled and aerated the dirt with hand tools, laid down some turf builder, spread the seed, and added more turf builder on top to give it a good head start. Would certainly buy again. PS this type of grass was specifically chosen for a heavily shaded area of the backyard that had actually been pretty bare because of the lack of sun. From the photo, you can really see that the lawn closest to the camera is all fresh new grass, with the other half of the lawn covered in established grass that actually gets sunlight. I wish I had photos from the tiny emerging blades of grass.

It germinates fast. No issues so far. The only complaint I have is, I could have gotten 100% common Creeping Red Fescue a lot cheaper at a local garden shop. And I do mean a lot cheaper. Anyway I should have checked their first, but saying that the seed seems good. I have no complaints with the product itself.

the seed germinated / sprouted quickly. I had grass growing in just about 5-6 days. Grass is now in it's third week and I am very pleased with the results. I covered an area of about 1000 sq ft. I just spread the seed by hand or you can use a spreader. Then I used a metal tine rake to rough up the soil so soil was loosened and seeds would be in the soil. Then patted down the soil with my feet (looked like I was dancing in the yard to my neighbors). Watered the area thourougly that day and then the next morning and evening for 3 days I watered that area adequately. And voila, in 4 days I could see sprouts. But keep the area moist by watering a little morning and evening depending on you soil. I have sandy soil so it absorbs water like a sponge. Or if you have too much sun and heat keep it watered because if the ground drys out while seeds are sprouting or trying to sprout, they are likely to die back. But is not difficult and if you have a shaded area this will work great for ground covering. Good luck.

Update: the grass looked great in the spring, but they almost all died in the summer, which is not that hot this year (less than 95F usually). They are neither drought resistant, nor hot resistant. Seeded in the last day of September. Rained the next day. Germinated in a week. Picture took at day 8 (Oct 9, 2016)

Ok, obviously not a problem with the seed, what little I did manage to hide from the sparrows is growing well. I hope it spreads out to fill in where the sparrows filled up. I hid the seed with straw, 15 minutes after I went inside, 500,000 sparrows were hunting grass seed. Ok, maybe there were only 475,000. A million-dollar idea, find an eco-friendly seed coating that the birds hate how it tastes.

Had a hard winter and the lawn did not all come back. This filled in just fine.

I purchased this product for my yard in mid-Alabama with humid summers and cool winters. I had no intent to plant this grass anywhere that received full sun for most of the day. I have bermuda grass for that, but I have some areas that are shaded enough by small trees and a privacy that the Bermuda will not grow. I hand broadcast the seed right before we received 2 days of rain. Within a week, I had full germination and great results. Keep in mind that I knew that it would not withstand full Alabama sun and I used it for shaded area. Very pleased so far and I expect better results come September.

So far so good. Seeds are coming up well in full shade. Hoping these work long term.