Recommended planting dates for Tall Fescue are September 1 to September 30 in northern (colder) regions of the tall fescue belt, and September 15 to October 15 in central and southern regions. These dates are ideal and give seedlings plenty of time to establish before freezing weather sets in.
In recent years there have been debates about whether later dates might be more successful than early ones given the potential for hot, dry weather, and insect pests like army worms and grasshoppers in late summer. While most agronomists are comfortable sticking to the traditional dates, most have had experience with delayed seeding because of hot and dry conditions, equipment breakdowns or seed availability. Late planting, even when seeding into dry land, is often successful when evaluated at the end of the following growing season.
This year the Tall Fescue Belt has again been challenged by a wide variety of weather conditions. Some areas have been very dry, while others have had pretty good moisture. Sporadic and poorly distributed rainfall has delayed planting on many farms. If soil conditions are very dry or excessively wet, it makes sense to wait for better conditions before seeding, even if it pushes you a few weeks past the traditional ideal planting dates. If conditions are very unfavorable October 15 and you have not bought your seed yet, then you should be considering planting annuals for another year rather than risking planting the tall fescue.
If you have your tall fescue seed on hand and have delayed planting for any reason, then here is some advice that can help you. If you have been delayed due to equipment breakdown, a family emergency, or some other competing activity, then buckle down and get your seed in the ground as soon as possible. If it is too wet to plant, then wait until you can get on the land without doing damage putting the seed in the ground. Be careful not to get the seed too deep as drill penetration will generally be deeper in wet soil than in dry.
If you are dry, then it is best to wait until you get significant moisture to germinate the seed. Eventually, however, you will need to drill the seed into dry soil when you reach the latest possible date to plant. General guidelines for the latest date you should go ahead and plant (even if it is still dry) would be October 15 in more northern parts or higher elevations, November 1 in central parts and November 15 in the southern parts (or low elevations in Virginia and North Carolina) of the Tall Fescue Belt. If you do have your seed and are facing a difficult situation, talk to your supplier as they might replace seed not planted this year with new seed for next year (if you decide to plant an annual), or they might support you if you plant and the stands fail due to continued dry weather.
If you choose to plant into dry land, keep a few things in mind. If you are using a no-till drill to seed, make sure your drill is getting into the ground. If using tillage, make sure that there is enough moisture to make a firm seedbed, and don’t get the seed too deep.
If you have put forth the effort to renovate your tall fescue pastures this year, follow through and put the seed in the ground! An old farmer once told me regarding late planting; “Seed left in the shed never grows”. Keep that in mind; plant the grass and feel good that you are taking a risk to dramatically improve your forage system. Farmers that took this risk last year saw a high rate of success.
One option in the more northern and higher elevation areas is to save the seed and plant in spring. Spring seeding is generally not recommended because fall planting is generally more successful than spring. However, in cooler areas spring planting is possible, so an option would be to leave the land fallow over the winter and then seed in February or March (check local recommendations) following a glyphosate application.
Stands planted in 2024 and 2025 should be well established and growing vigorously if you have had moisture. These stands should be fed some nitrogen again this fall to stimulate further development. If you have not put any nitrogen on yet, then 30 lbs/acre of nitrogen would be generally recommended at this late date. It is important to note that on land that has been in pasture for a long time there will be residual nitrogen mineralized that may make your applied nitrogen less critical. You can use the color of the grass along with your historical knowledge of the pasture to guide your nitrogen application. If you cut the tall fescue for hay, make sure you also apply enough potassium and phosphorus to replace what you removed in the hay (typically 15 lbs of P2O5 and 50 lbs of K2O per ton of hay).
Warm season grasses in tall fescue have been a problem in recent years all across the fescue belt. Many new fescue stands show a lot of crabgrass, nimblewill, foxtail, Johnsongrass, etc. Although tall fescue stands underneath may be alive, this will mean a weakened stand and potential for all these warm-season species to come in even stronger again the following year. Application of some nitrogen to these fields after frost will help them thicken up over the winter. Also, think about possibly applying a preemergent herbicide in early spring to reduce the germination of the warm-season annuals.
~ Matt Poore, NC State and the Alliance for Grassland Renewal
The Alliance for Grassland Renewal is a national organization focused on enhancing the appropriate adoption of novel endophyte tall fescue technology through education, incentives, self-regulation and promotion. For more resources or to learn more about the Alliance for Grassland Renewal, go to www.grasslandrenewal.org
