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Copy link Jetty: hard fescue cultivar profile
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Jetty is a US-bred hard fescue developed for turf where shade tolerance, drought tolerance and low maintenance requirements are important.
It combines a very dark-green color with strong shade performance, summer persistence and disease tolerance. Jetty can be used across different management intensities, from maintained landscape turf to golf roughs and unmown areas.
Jetty is also A-LIST approved, independently recognizing its ability to maintain turf quality under reduced-input management. Mountain View Seeds lists Jetty among its approved fine fescue cultivars.
Jetty at a glance
| Species | Hard fescue (Festuca trachyphylla) |
| A-LIST cultivar | Yes |
| Breeding | US genetics |
| Leaf color | Very dark green |
| Key strengths | Shade tolerance, drought tolerance and disease tolerance |
| Additional characteristic | Adaptable from maintained turf to unmown areas |
| Typical uses | Golf roughs, landscape and amenity turf, orchards, reclamation and conservation areas |
What are the characteristics of Jetty?
Jetty is a hard fescue combining strong shade and drought tolerance with a very dark-green appearance and good disease tolerance.
Its ability to grow beneath dense tree canopies makes it particularly useful where restricted light limits turf performance. It can also be maintained at relatively low mowing heights for hard fescue or left unmown for more extensive and naturalized areas.
A-LIST approved for low-input turf
Jetty is approved by the Alliance for Low Input Sustainable Turf (A-LIST).
A-LIST independently tests turfgrass varieties to identify cultivars capable of maintaining acceptable turf quality with reduced maintenance inputs. Approved varieties must meet defined performance criteria before receiving A-LIST status.
Jetty’s A-LIST approval reinforces its suitability for lower-input turf where reducing requirements for water, fertilizer and plant protection products is important, while still maintaining turf quality.
Jetty performance
Jetty has been evaluated through the US National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP).
In 2018 NTEP trials, Jetty recorded higher overall turf quality than the other fine fescues evaluated across all trial sites. Testing also demonstrated strong performance for shade tolerance, summer live cover, disease tolerance and genetic color
| Characteristic | Jetty rating |
|---|---|
| Mean turf quality | 6.2 |
| Shade tolerance | 6.7 |
| Summer live cover | 8.0 |
| Summer Patch tolerance | 7.4 |
| Microdochium patch tolerance | 8.0 |
| Red Thread tolerance | 8.9 |
| Dollar Spot tolerance | 6.7 |
| Genetic color | 6.0 |
Shade tolerance
Shade tolerance is one of Jetty’s key strengths.
Jetty can maintain turf beneath dense tree canopies, extending its potential use into areas where restricted light makes establishing and maintaining turf more difficult.
This makes it particularly relevant for shaded golf roughs, landscape areas, orchards and other sites with established trees.
Drought and summer performance
Jetty has strong drought tolerance and maintains good turf cover through summer.
In testing, Jetty maintained 89% summer live cover, demonstrating its ability to retain ground cover during challenging summer conditions.
Combined with the naturally lower input requirements of hard fescue, this makes Jetty suited to extensive turf where irrigation and maintenance inputs may be limited.
Disease tolerance
Jetty has demonstrated tolerance to several important turf diseases.
NTEP data show strong performance against Red Thread and Microdochium patch, alongside tolerance to Summer Patch and Dollar Spot.
Its Red Thread tolerance was particularly strong in the data presented, with Jetty recording a score of approximately 8.9.
Color and turf quality
Jetty has a very dark-green genetic color and is one of the darkest hard fescues in the ICL portfolio.
Its combination of color, turf quality and ability to tolerate mowing also allows Jetty to be used in maintained landscape applications, rather than being restricted to extensive or unmown turf.
Where can Jetty be used?
Jetty is suited to turf where shade, drought or reduced maintenance inputs are important considerations.
Typical applications include:
- Golf course roughs
- Shaded turf and areas beneath tree canopies
- Landscape and amenity turf
- Low-maintenance grass areas
- Orchards
- Reclamation areas
- Conservation and unmown areas
Jetty can be maintained at around 25 mm or allowed to remain unmown, providing flexibility across maintained and extensive turf applications.
Jetty in the ProSelect range
Jetty is available as a ProSelect as a straight or as part of a blend.
