{"id":1624,"date":"2026-03-18T12:42:39","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T12:42:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lawndoctor.com\/batavia-il\/?p=1624"},"modified":"2026-03-19T21:59:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T21:59:47","slug":"grass-type-issues-fine-fescue-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lawndoctor.com\/batavia-il\/grass-type-issues-fine-fescue-concerns\/","title":{"rendered":"Grass type Issues\/Fine fescue concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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TURF TYPE & LAWN HEALTH ISSUES<\/p>\n

High Incidence of Fine Fescue “Brown Out”<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
TURF TYPE is a common reason for health issues in our lawns, but what do we mean by “turf type?”\u00a0Turf type can refer to the Cool or Warm Season grasses (read more below), but also to the specific VARIETY of grass or combination of grasses.<\/p>\n

With our summers becoming hotter in our area, our Cool Season grasses are struggling!\u00a0Cool season grasses have optimal growth with air temperatures between 60-75 degrees (F) and soil temperatures between 50-65 degrees (F).<\/p>\n

We are seeing significant lawn health issues especially when the “wrong” grass has been planted in the “wrong” area.<\/p>\n

Specifically, fine fescue and poa trivialis grasses are being found in full sun areas at higher and higher rates each year. This will cause browning\/dormancy in the heat of our summers.<\/p>\n

In these cases of the wrong grass in full sun, the areas that are browning out WILL get larger each summer.<\/p>\n

In addition, care practices that have always “worked” in the past are not working in many cases. With the hotter soil temperatures (and air temperatures) in summer along with higher nightime lows, our “cool season” grasses cannot tolerate long periods of dormancy or short mowing. Lawn care practices (watering, mowing and fertilization) must be appropriate for the weather conditions.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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COOL SEASON GRASSES IN OUR AREA<\/p>\n

Turf type matters because certain turf types do better or worse given sun exposure, soil temperatures\u00a0and\u00a0care practices<\/p>\n

Most of our lawns are made up of Kentucky Bluegrass, Perennial Ryegrass, Fine Fescue, and Turf Type Tall Fescue. Most of our lawns are a “cool season mix” of those varieties, but some will also include other Fescue Grasses, Creeping Bentgrass, Coarse Fescue, Poa trivialis and others.<\/p>\n

WHAT IS THE BEST TYPE OF GRASS FOR MY LAWN??<\/p>\n

The best approach\u00a0if starting from scratch\u00a0is to plant different turfgrasses in each microclimate of your yard considering various factors:<\/p>\n