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Acanthus mollis |
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| Common name |
bear's breeches |
| Family |
acanthaceae |
| Life cycle |
perennial (Z6-9) |
| Flowers |
purple/white |
| Size |
4' |
| Light |
sun-part shade |
| Cultural notes |
ordinary garden soil |
From seed  |
Give 2-3 months cold, then germinate at room temperature
detailed seed-starting info below
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| Glossy, interestingly cut foliage is quite attractive, and forms a tight cluster. Upright flowering stalks in summer carry rows of two-toned flowers to a striking effect. In ideal conditions, acanthus is reputed to spread rapidly by roots, but in our garden (in the Northern range of its hardiness zone) it hasn't posed a problem in the least. The plant keeps adding interest over a long season, with its flowers progressing upwards along the stalk, and fading to a tan color as they go. The pictures below were taken at the beginning (left) and end (right) of August.
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| | For years I tried unsuccessfully to retrieve seed from the smallish pods that form near the flower stalks; this year I found out why: true seed pods are much larger, ballooning to the size of a medium grape and containing several glossy fat lumpy seeds. I still got only a few. |
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In our garden, this plant grows in the following areas: side garden, patio area, sale plot About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Acanthus mollis
Some particularly helpful links to other websites
Visitors to this page have left the following comments| wanda shelmidine | Feb 21, 2006 | I wish you had hardiness zones stated on your web site. I live in zone 4b so I am always looking for hardy plants.
Thank you for your time,
Wanda
But I do! (that's the Z6-9, above) |
| Beverly | Mar 27, 2006 | I read somewhere that this would grow under a camphor tree...Do you know anything about that?
I've no idea, Beverly. I suspect I'm in the wrong zone. |
| Kirsty, South Australia | Apr 24, 2006 | I have hacked & removed this plant from my newly purhcased house as it was left to go unruly. I have since dug up the roots system and found that in any rain the plant will re-grow from as little as 3mm of left over roots system. At present I have about fifty in pots ready to sell. Is there a specialty market I should approach as the nurseries in my area will not take them as no-one wants to buy a plant that (left to go it alone) will become unruly again.
I love it, it looks great and is certainly hardy but it definitly needs to be manicured. In huge pots it looks a treat.
Likewise, it spreads agressively in my parents' garden in the Netherlands. It's very mild-mannered in my garden - either because of slightly harsher weather, or because I don't provide quite as nice a soil. |
| Lynda Posey | Jun 14, 2006 | I have a beautiful acantus mollis in a huge pot which has bloomed 3 years running. However, the foilage keeps turning yellow and dying back. Someone told me it needed a steady moisture and not be allowed to dry out. I live in Zone 8, south Georgia. Do you know? |
| Beckie, Houston Texas | Aug 09, 2006 | I purchased a beautiful flowering acanthus two months ago and planted it in a partial sun location with 1/2 gal per day water system. Older leaves are now turning yellow and a couple new leaves started to develop, but then quit growing. We dug up the plant and found the roots healthy. The plant has been transplanted to a flower pot for about 3 weeks, still in partial sun and 1/2 gal water per day, but doesn't look any better. What should we do? |
| Sandy | Sep 27, 2008 | I have 2 beautiful acantus mollis and I learned that they are hard to move! I only had one and had it in a bed that i decided it didn't belong, so i dug it up and moved it. Well, I learned that you just can't get it all, so I still have one in the original place! Going to move it again and maybe I will have 3 of them next Spring!! |
| Leslie Moore | Jun 01, 2009 | Here in Greece the English common name is "wild rhubarb". I surfed to confirm this finding only oyster plant (Australia) and of course "bears britches" (US). One site also notes "Grecian plant". Regards |
- Seed from '07 garden. Soaked 1d (discarded a floater), baggy 35F (9w) - 70F (100%G, 3d)
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Last modified:
August 09, 2009
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