Acanthus spinosus - SPINY BEAR BREACH

Robust looking perennial with large, spiky and shiny leaves and pink-mauve snapdragon-like flowers in early summer. Trouble free and drought tolerant.

Awarded by Award of Garden Merit by RHS (Royal Horticultural Society, Britain) in 1993.

3-4' tall x 2.5-3' wide clumping perennial, slowly spreading wide into wider clumps or small colonies (can spread quite fast in optimum conditions).

Full sun to half shade are the best. In hot climate is better in halfshade or afternoon shade. Tolerates full shade, but doesn't bloom there.

Adaptable to virtually any soil, but wet or poorly drained.

Hardy in zones 5 to 9 (but in zone 5 is recommended some mulch winter protection).

Deer and rabbit resistant, attracts honeybees.

Native to Mediterranean region, similar to other Acanthus (A. hungaricus, A. mollis), the leaf pattern was used on the top of Greek Corinthian columns.

If you remove the plant and leave some root in the soil,it usually sprouts into new plant. So it is better to choose the right place, because Acanthus is long-lived plant and can be difficult to remove later on.

Architectural perennial with robust structure, which makes this plant easy to combine pretty much with anything - looks great with low groundcovers, majority of common perennials, medium and bigger grasses (or grassy-leaved perennials like daylily) and even with smaller or medium-sized shrubs or flowering shrubs.

Best for borders, woodland edges, Mediterranean garden, dry half shade and water wise plantings. Great cut flower.

Pot size : square 3.5" x 5" deep perennial pot

Picture copyright :1 - F.D. Richards, Flickr , 2 - Rob and Lisa Meehan, Commons Wikipedia