Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue' Ornamental Grass at Lovegrass Farm

Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue'  in August

Festuca (fess-TOO-kah) glauca (GLOK-ah) 'Elijah Blue" has proved to be one of the most durable of the common blue fescues.  A semi-evergreen cool season grass that prefers average, well-drained soils in full sun.  Elijah is composed of compact tufts of 8 in. or 20 cm. long powder-blue leaves topped by upright-arching flowering stems up to 16 in. or 40 cm. tall in late spring or very early summer.  The stems start out blue-green and quickly fade to a light straw color.  Full sun is best but they are tolerant of light shade.  It makes an effective ground cover or naturalized in a rock garden.  Elijah looks beautiful with low sedums such as 'Vera Jamieson' & 'Angelina'.  I usually mix some in containers.  They need to be divided every few years to maintain vigor and color, more often if you have rich soil.