Skip to content
LawnYear
2 grasses · extension sources

Lawn care calendar for Tennessee.

Tennessee's fescue guide from the University of Tennessee gives exact dates for seeding and for five feedings, a rarity among the sources used here.

Get dates for my ZIP →

By LawnYear editorial team · Published · Updated Windows are read from the extension publications listed under Sources; the dates are approximate.

Short answer for Tennessee

In Tennessee, for tall fescue, seed Aug 20 to Sep 15; fertilize Mar 15 to Apr 15 and Sep 1 to Nov 15, per University of Tennessee Extension (2010).

For fine fescue, seed Aug 20 to Sep 15; fertilize Mar 15 to Apr 15 and Sep 1 to Nov 15, per University of Tennessee Extension (2010).

Approximate dates for your state. Check with your local cooperative extension office before you act.

Windows by grass and task

Lawn care windows in Tennessee by grass and task, from the extension sources listed under Sources. Dates are approximate.
GrassSeedFertilizeSource
Tall fescueAug 20 to Sep 15Mar 15 to Apr 15Sep 1 to Nov 15University of Tennessee Extension, 2010
Fine fescueAug 20 to Sep 15Mar 15 to Apr 15Sep 1 to Nov 15University of Tennessee Extension, 2010

Calendar by grass

Grasses the source covers with one shared calendar are shown together. Open a group for each task, its note and its source. Want dates for your ZIP code? Use the lawn schedule by ZIP tool.

Tall fescue

3 tasks

Tall fescue in other states

Fine fescue

3 tasks

Fine fescue in other states

A guide that covers only the fescues

PB1576 covers tall fescue and the fine fescues (chewings, hard and red). It rates tall fescue good for heat and drought and excellent for acidic soil, and the fine fescues good for drought and excellent for shade but only fair for high temperatures. This site has no warm-season calendar for Tennessee, because the bermudagrass calendar found for the state could not be opened.

Seeding is a four-week window

The guide says to seed the fescues in late summer, August 20 to September 15, just before the most favorable conditions. Tall fescue is planted at 5 to 8 lb per 1,000 sq ft and chewings, hard or red fescue at 3 to 5 lb. Early spring seeding is allowed, but the guide says plants with limited roots often do not survive the summer.

Five dated feedings

The fertilization table gives March 15 and April 15 at 1/2 lb of nitrogen per 1,000 sq ft, then September 1, October 15 and November 15 at 1 lb for tall fescue. For fine fescues it prefers 1/2 lb in September, October and November, and it says never to apply more than 1 lb at one time. The calendar shows the five dates as two windows, March 15 to April 15 and September 1 to November 15.

Mowing and water without a calendar

Tall fescue is mowed at 2 to 3 in and the fine fescues at 1.5 to 2.5 in, and the guide says to mow when the tallest plants are a third above the cutting height. Actively growing fescues need 1 to 1.5 in of water a week, applied deeply and infrequently. The guide gives no months for mowing or watering, so neither is shown on the calendar.

Sources

The dates and figures on this page come from these publications.

  1. [1]
    University of Tennessee Extension ↗ (opens in a new tab)PB1576, Selecting, Establishing and Maintaining the Fescues (2010); seeding window and rates, fertilization calendar and mowing heights. The year is the date of the university's repository record.Publication year 2010 · Read 2026-10-30