The Tall fescue will not struggle in the heat, as long as soil moisture is adequate, and your not in an area where the temps consistently get above 90 .........starting tall fescue from seed is possibly easier than any other grass. I have seen it germinate in hot and cold ! Your main issue will be getting your watering schedule correct. Deep soaking will give the roots a chance to dive deeper into the soil , and give it much more heat tolerance. Do you have a sprinkler system ?

dchall

Thank you very much for the detailed response. We live about 2 miles east of interstate 5. :) The fescue was installed by a landscape contractor about a year ago. Looked great through what was a very wet winter in Southern California, but it has really struggled in the last month as temps have increased. I will follow your suggestions of either reseeding in October or potentially installing a different grass. Thanks.

Tom

Thanks for the response. Yes, we have a sprinkler system. I have been watering 3 times a week for 10 minutes at a time. The last month has had a significant amount of days in the 85+ degree range, with very low humidity. And this yard gets full sun, all day long. Do you think I should hold off on a potential re-seed until October? I am concerned that attempting a re-seed in these warm, dry conditions could be a waste. Thanks.

Fescue in full sun is a waste altogether. Do your part to reduce the water shortage & forget about that fescue garbage. It's only good for the sod farms & seed producers that need the revenue each year

Here are some general fescue care guidelines taken from this and other forums.

Watering: Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. This is for all turf grass all over the place. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. Put some cat food or tuna cans around the yard, and time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill all the cans. Memorize that time. That will be the time you water from now on. My hose, sprinkler and water pressure takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your time will likely be less. I like gentle watering. As for watering frequency, that depends on the daytime air temperature. With temps in the 90s, deep water once per week. With temps in the 80s, deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 70s, deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps below 70, deep water once a month. Note that you have to keep up with quickly changing temps in the spring and fall. This deep and infrequent schedule works in Phoenix and in Vermont, so it should work for you. The reason for deep and infrequent is to grow deeper, more drought resistant roots and to allow the soil to dry completely at the surface for several days before watering again. If it rains, reset your calendar to account for the rainfall.

Mowing: Mulch mow high. Every university study splits hairs on the exact mowing height, when in fact, mowers come pre adjusted. The easiest way to deal with that is to mow at your mower's highest setting or one notch down. Do not mow fescue at temps higher than the low 90s. Let it get long and bring it back down with a string trimmer when the temps cool off.

Fertilizer: First application on Memorial Day. This takes patience to ignore 4 months of advertising that insists NOW is the time to fertilize. It isn't. Wait until after the spring flush of new growth has slowed down and then fertilize.

Preemergent herbicide: When the forsythia bloom in your neighborhood.

Post emergent herbicide: Spot spray individual weeds with Weed-b-Gon or another 2,4-d product. For special cases use Weed-b-Gon Chickweed, Clover, and Oxalis Killer or other Trycloper product.

Insecticide: Almost never. I used it in the 60s on a dichondra lawn, but for real grass I have never needed one. Everyone's mileage is different on this, but the routine use of insecticide should be avoided unless you see insects causing damage.

If your fescue cannot handle the watering as described above, then it is the wrong grass for your area. It simply is not adapted to inland California conditions.