Shade-Tolerant Fescue Blends: Winter Beauty but Summer Decline Under Deepening Shade

Q: In shady areas, is it okay to plant a blend of fescue and other grasses?

You can plant a "shade loving" fescue blend. Most shade mixes combine bluegrass, ryegrass, red fescue, and tall fescue. The grassy area looks fine in winter when leaves are off trees. But as shade deepens and heat arrives in summer, all these grasses, including fescue, gradually thin and die out. One trick: mow as high as your mower allows. Increased leaf length helps grass scavenge light.