Festuca gautieri
Festuca gautieri
Festuca gautieri
Bearskin Fescue, Spiky Fescue
Doing well
Marcel, 22/03/2025
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Description
The Festuca gautieri, also known as Gautier's fescue, is an adorable small perennial grass that forms beautiful little cushions, very green. It presents itself as a tufted and carpeting clump with a slightly bristly habit, with a lovely spring green color that turns emerald green in summer. Its green spikes bloom above the foliage in the second half of spring, before turning golden, adding a subtly bright touch to the plant. This species, adapted to poor soils, is very hardy and very drought-tolerant. A small, original plant that is perfect for difficult areas, beautiful as ground cover, edging, or at the front of borders.
Festuca gautieri, also known as Festuca scoparia or bear's hair fescue, is a small herb of the grass family commonly found in France, particularly in the Pyrenees, where it grows in poor, acidic soils as well as rocky soils. It is a pretty plant with a dense cushion habit, slowly colonizing the ground through its short rhizomes. This herbaceous perennial has a short lifespan, like many fescues. When fully grown, it reaches a height of 15 cm (6in), with a width of 25 cm (10in), and has a fairly rapid growth rate. Its cylindrical leaves are very finely textured and evergreen. They measure 0.4 to 0.7 mm (1in) in diameter, with a stiff appearance and a prickly touch. In spring, they emerge in an acidic green color, then turn emerald green in summer. Between May and June, light panicles appear, measuring 5 to 7 cm (2 to 3in), carrying initially greenish-yellow spikelets that turn straw yellow in autumn. Seeds form in late summer and are dispersed by the wind, ensuring the species' survival in gardens and in nature.
Hardy well below -15°C (5°F), Festuca gautieri is a perfect plant for dry gardens and areas with poor, rocky soil. It can be used as ground cover, in low borders, as an edging, or in rockeries, spaced to punctuate a space or planted en masse to form a thick and dense carpet. It creates beautiful contrasts with blue fescues and remains decorative throughout the year. In a very contemporary spirit, you can create small scenes by surrounding your Festuca cushions with light or colored gravel, sand, or even volcanic rock. This will also limit the proliferation of new plants. Plant it also alongside spring bulbs that it will not smother, but will hide their yellowed foliage in summer. It can even be grown in pots on the terrace.
Festuca gautieri in pictures
Flowering
Foliage
Plant habit
Safety measures
Botanical data
Festuca
gautieri
Poaceae
Bearskin Fescue, Spiky Fescue
Western Europe
atteinterespiratoire
Cette plante peut entraîner des symptômes allergiques.
Evitez de la planter si vous ou vos proches souffrez de rhinite saisonnière ("rhume des foins").
Davantage d'informations sur https://plantes-risque.info
Planting and care
Plant Festuca gautieri in autumn or spring, in the sun or even in partial shade, in well-drained dry soil, preferably poor, and even rocky or sandy, but not too chalky. A young plant that thrives easily, even more beautiful when it suffers a little, a trouble-free and low-maintenance grass. Festucas often become bare in the center of the clump. It is necessary to prune them in late winter and regularly replant them by dividing the outer part of the clumps to replant them a little further away. The clumps look beautiful from the second year onwards.
Planting period
Intended location
Care
Planting & care advice
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Hardiness is the lowest winter temperature a plant can endure without suffering serious damage or even dying. However, hardiness is affected by location (a sheltered area, such as a patio), protection (winter cover) and soil type (hardiness is improved by well-drained soil).
In temperate climates, pruning of spring-flowering shrubs (forsythia, spireas, etc.) should be done just after flowering.
Pruning of summer-flowering shrubs (Indian Lilac, Perovskia, etc.) can be done in winter or spring.
In cold regions as well as with frost-sensitive plants, avoid pruning too early when severe frosts may still occur.
The harvesting period indicated on our website applies to countries and regions in USDA zone 8 (France, England, Ireland, the Netherlands).
In colder areas (Scandinavia, Poland, Austria...) fruit and vegetable harvests are likely to be delayed by 3-4 weeks.
In warmer areas (Italy, Spain, Greece, etc.), harvesting will probably take place earlier, depending on weather conditions.
The sowing periods indicated on our website apply to countries and regions within USDA Zone 8 (France, UK, Ireland, Netherlands).
In colder areas (Scandinavia, Poland, Austria...), delay any outdoor sowing by 3-4 weeks, or sow under glass.
In warmer climes (Italy, Spain, Greece, etc.), bring outdoor sowing forward by a few weeks.
The planting period indicated on our website applies to regions in USDA Zone 9a (East Coast and Midlands: Dublin, Wexford, Waterford, Kilkenny, Portlaoise). It will vary depending on where you live:
- On the west coast and in the north-west (Galway, Limerick, Sligo, Donegal, Westport), delay planting by 1 to 2 weeks in spring and bring it forward by 1 to 2 weeks in autumn compared to the dates given, preferably choosing periods without strong winds.
- In the inland hills and plateaus (Wicklow Mountains, Macgillycuddy’s Reeks, Connemara, Killarney), it is best to plant in spring (April–May) or autumn (September–October), avoiding periods of waterlogged soil in winter and strong winds, which pose the main risk to newly planted trees in these areas.
The flowering period indicated on our website applies to regions in USDA Zone 9a, such as the East Coast and Midlands, including Dublin, Wexford, Waterford, Kilkenny and Portlaoise.
This will vary depending on where you live:
- On the west coast and in the northwest (Galway, Limerick, Sligo, Donegal and Westport), it will be delayed by one to two weeks compared to the given dates, due to stronger Atlantic winds and less spring sunshine.
- In the inland hills and plateaus (the Wicklow Mountains, the Macgillycuddy's Reeks, Connemara and Killarney), flowering will be delayed by two to three weeks. Flowering mainly occurs between May and July, with the limiting factors being less frost and more of the excessive humidity, strong winds and lack of sunshine that are characteristic of these areas.