Acanthus mollis (bears Breeches)

daveshockley · July 2018

My wife purchased one of these today at the nursery, and was told it was the last one they had as they were scarce this year. Has anyone had any experience with this plant? I am just starting to research them. Thanks

Fairygirl · July 2018

Hi Dave - lots of people here grow them, although I haven't had them for many years.
Great plants to have in the garden as they tolerate most conditions. Good for insects too. Do you get quite a wide range of temps and weather conditions where you are?
They should be very useful - really hardy and will grow in sun or a bit of shade.

What is the little bird in your avatar if you don't mind me asking? Many of here are very keen on bird life too

daveshockley · July 2018

Fairfield the temperatures have a wide range. This summer the temp can reach into the mid 90's and down to -10 in the winter. Do you have any idea of The type of soil they like?

The bird on my finger in the avatar is a Pine Warbler.

This one is a Blue Warbler I think.

I love birds also.

Thanks

Fairygirl · July 2018

Moist and free draining suits them well, but I think they can cope with drier condtions once established.
Beautiful little birds Dave

We have a lot of different warblers here in the UK too, but not quite so colourful I think - most of ours are grey and green shades. I hillwalk regularly and I'm lucky to see lots of wildlife when I'm out, from buzzards and meadow pipits to ptarmigan, grouse and snow buntings. Great when you get a good pic

Mary370 · July 2018

I have one for the last 4/5 years, I love it. It didn't flower the first 2 years but last year it had multiple tall white flower stalks, lots showing this year too. I've read that it can be invasive, but I have not found it to be.....I never feed it or water it, I have stripped all but 2 or 3 leaves after it was eaten by something and it regrew, it survived the beast from the east and is practically evergreen. All in all a great trouble-free plant.
Pic from last year................

daveshockley · July 2018

Thank you Mary. Now we are rethinking where we are going to put it.

Hostafan1 · July 2018

I've given up growing them. I did find them invasive, especially if you moved them. Every single bit of root left behind made a new plant. The birds were very keen on the ripening seed pods and they appeared everywhere.

Joyce Goldenlily · July 2018

Be afraid, very afraid, of planting this thug in your garden. I love them in flower, they are spectacular but as above, every little piece will produce a new plant and the roots go down to Australia, it will also seed itself all over the garden and it is impossible to get rid of. I grew one in a pot for a few years but it never flowered and eventually died.

Hostafan1 · July 2018

I dug one up from a client's garden meaning to dump it. I lay , upside down, with virtually no soil on it ,all winter by "the dump" and in spring it threw up shoots from the underneath and the roots started at the top and worked their way back down into the ground.
Impressive in a way, but no thanks.

Lyn · July 2018

I’ve grown them from seed, this is their third year, which I was expecting them to flower, but they haven’t yet. Plenty of green, maybe the ground is too rich. We had them at a previous house and the took over the bed, you need to catch the seeds before they fall.

Hortus · July 2018

I have 2 of these in my garden and yes they can grow quite large but the are dramatic and centre stage.

They both lasted the very cold winter we had as well as this very hot summer. I have had them in the ground for a few years now and each year they get better and better.

I do not cut the stems down until spring as the insects over winter in them but during the summer the bees love it. I have never fed them just watered and I have poor sandy soil so if they can cope with that....

All winter the garden was bare but the spikes stood proud on their own when everything else had died back

Acanthus mollis (bears Breeches)

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