Hi, I got some blue fescue seeds and the instruction I have are quite different (see below) from you procedures. How should I plant these seeds? and how to collect them? Can I plant them late summer or autumn? Thanks a lot __________________ Sow February to July in trays of good seed compost in a propagator or warm place to maintain an optimum temperature of 15-18C. Sow in well drained compost, just covering the seed with compost. Germination can be slow. After sowing, seal container in a polythene bag and leave at 15-18C for 2 weeks, then place in a refrigerator for 3-6 weeks. After this, return to the recommended germination temperature, if germination does not occur in 6-10 weeks, return to the fridge for a further 3-6 weeks. Examine regularly whilst in the fridge and remove immediately the seeds show signs of germinating. _______________________________

It sounds like you have some sort of Carex volunteer, likely an annual. I have at least 3 different kinds which show up in my garden. If they're in a place where I like them, I leave them, and some, I transplant when very young. If you want to at least reduce the self-sowing, trim them back before the seeds can ripen. They'll frequently grow new foliage, but seldom survive winter. Blue Fescue self-sows readily in my garden, and some of them are bluer or greener than the parents. I do the same as the volunteer Carex. If I like the color, I keep it, either where they started, or I move them, sometimes to pots.

I know this is a really old post and probably should be removed from this forum, but since it's still on here I want to post a response. Adam is talking about pennisetum hameln, a dwarf fountain grass, not penstemon. I looked it up. From what I know about ornamental grasses, esp. dwarf or short grasses, the best way to multiply them is to divide them at the roots. I brought a small blue fescue plant with me when I moved from Colorado to Washington state 7 yrs ago. I've transplanted it 4 times and it has never failed me. I used a shovel to divide it last fall for the first time into three plants, and I wasn't very gentle with it because the roots were so tightly bound. One plant died, but the other two made it with consistent watering and feeding. I never cut mine down because it actually makes them look worse. Now I'll let one of the plants grow as big as it wants to get and I'll just divide the other one in a couple of years, and so on. My guess is that you can do the same with pennisetum. I've also divided ferns, bulbs, and hardy fuchsias successfully..

They go dormant in summer and resent over-watering during that time, its a good way to kill them. They are also very susceptible to june bug grubs, one can wipe out a whole plant by eating all the roots. I treat them like short lived perennials, its not a long lived grass and I find them to be best grown by seed. About two seasons for a mature plant is good then they start to get ratty looking. I allow mine to self sow so new plants are always there to take over the ones that are old or die. I have two mass plantings and I thin them out and/or move volunteers in spring. I usually get all blue but occasionally will get a green one, no big deal, I just cull it out. Like any grass, there are always slight variations of size, color, bloom time etc. I don't expect absolute perfection nor do I particularly like the artificially man-made, contrived 'dotted' look of planting them perfectly sized and spaced.