The best coloring comes with full sun so I'd suspect yours ways grown in not enough sun/too much shade. With more sun, it should color up properly but not immediately.

btw, the correct name is Festuca glauca (not cineria). 'Elijah Blue' is known for its intense blue coloring (when grown correctly). 'Beyond Blue' is another good, very blue selection.

@gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) I changed my own documentation on the name, but here is the (incorrect) label that was on the plant.

in my experience .... all blue plants are green plants with a glaucous or waxy leaf surface.. which reflect the color of a blue sky ...

so on grey days.. if you have any in ca.. lol .. the plants look more grey.. rather than blue..

also.. the wax can be worn off by overhead watering.. especially if the nursery uses water sol fert in it..

and that is why many look very blue in spring.. as nbew leaves emerge .... but with heat and a long summer.. look much less blue by fall.. or in winter... it is still winter.. even in CA.. right???

anyway.. trust me on this i had hundreds of blue hosta.. and blue conifers... and any and all other blue leaved perennials... they are ALL green under the blue wax...

ken

@ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5 I can hardly believe it, but I start to feel hints of Spring here already. My type 2 Clematis are putting out their first growth. We have had an epic Winter with lots of rain, but we do have sunny days.

I don't doubt that a blue plant looks different in full sun than in the shade or on an overcast day. But the simple fact is that there is a LOT of Blue Fescue around here, and many of the specimens look like the attached photo. You can describe that as blue or simply a very subdued bluish tint, but what it is beyond question is NOT GREEN.

Will my green plant become blue in the sun? Is this a genetic variation of the species that is less blue? Did my plant start out blue and have the natural green color somehow reassert itself? I would like to know which, at some point.