Acanthus mollis

Plant Characteristics

Habit		herbaceous
Height:	⇕	7 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 7.
Width:	⇔	40 in"in" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 40. to 60 in"in" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 60.
Lifespan:	⌛	perennial
Bloom:	❀	early summer, mid summer, late summer

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	sun, part-sun
Water:	◍	moderate, dry
Features:	✓	flowers, drought tolerant, ground cover
USDA Zones:		6 to 10
Sunset Zones:		4-24, 28-32
Flower features:	❀	blue, purple, white

Scientific Names

Acanthaceae >

Acanthus >

mollis >

Acanthus mollis, commonly known as Bear's Breeches, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the genus Acanthus, native to the Mediterranean region from Portugal and northwest Africa east to Croatia, and is one of the earliest cultivated species of garden plants.

It grows to 2 m tall, with basal clusters of deeply lobed and cut, shining dark green leaves up to 1 m long and 20 cm broad. The flowers are tubular, whitish, lilac or rose with spiny green or purplish bracts, and produced on stout spikes which grow up to 2.5 m (8 ft) above the leaves. It flowers in late spring or early summer. It grows in dry areas, and is tolerant of drought and shade. The plants are propagated from tubers and tend to form large, localized clumps which can survive for several decades. The leaves of this plant are generally considered by historians to have been the design inspiration for the Corinthian column capitals of Greco-Roman architecture.

Read about Acanthus mollis in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Acanthus mollis, Linn. Lvs. 2x1 ft., cordate, sinuately pinnatifid, mostly radical: fls. summer; spikes loose, pubescent. —Also recommended as a window plant. Var. latifolius, Hort. (A. latifolius, Hort. A. lusitanicus, Hort.) is larger and hardier. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Cultivation

Acanthus mollis calendar?
January:
February:	sow
March:	divide
April:	transplant
May:	flowering
June:	flowering
July:
August:
September:
October:	divide
November:
December:
Notes:

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Propagation

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Pests and diseases

Snails and slugs can cause bad damage, especially on young growth.

Gallery

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External links

• w:Acanthus mollis. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Acanthus mollis QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)