RE: Acanthus mollis

Paul and Marge,
	My experience with both Acanthus mollis & Acanthus spinosus has been that
they are slow growers for about 2-3 years and then really start to bulk up
and bloom well.  My spinosus went from 3 bloom stalks to 15 between years 3
& 4 (or maybe it was years 4 & 5).  I had to dig it out temporarily so it
would not be trampled during garage reconstruction this fall.  It has a HUGE
root ball that it took 2 of us to drag to the compost pile to heel in until
it can be replaced in the original spot.
I find the flowers intriguing - very prehistoric looking.  They last a long,
long time and also make great dried cuts.  Marge, I think your lack of bloom
is directly related to lack of sun.  I had a Japanese Maple die and
consequently opened up the area around my deck to much more sunlight.  I'm
sure that also contributed to the increase of bloom stalks.  I much prefer
the foliage of A. mollis.  To me it looks very tropical, like a cutleaf
Philodendron.  They are both evergreen here in our maritime climate.

Marilyn Dube'
Natural Designs Nursery
Portland, Oregon


-----Original Message-----
From:	owner-perennials@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On Behalf
Of Marge Talt
Sent:	Saturday, November 16, 2002 8:08 PM
To:	perennials@hort.net
Subject:	Re: Acanthus mollis

Congratulations, Paul;-)

Well, I have to say I started with a potted plant, not a seedling,
but my impression is that they are not hugely fast growers.  Took
mine a few years to become a large clump.

They do develop deep tap roots and when you plant them in the garden,
you'd best be certain that's where you want them, because if you
decide to change your mind and try to dig up a plant and move it,
some of that long root will be left in the ground and grow a new
plant.

I find A. mollis wants to be evergreen in the worst way.  Any mild
period during winter and it will start to put out fresh foliage,
which, of course, gets blackened the minute the temps. go below
freezing again.

I do not think you'll find them taking up too much room their first
season, but, after several years in the ground, they form substantial
clumps....really substantial.  Lovely plants, IMO.  Just acquired
'New Zealand Gold' this year and will be interested to find out how
well it holds that color in the shady spot where I've planted it.  A.
mollis has never bloomed for me whereas the plant I bought as A.
balcanicus (now, I think A. hungaricus) blooms faithfully every year.

BTW, most interested in what you did to achieve germination.  I have
failed miserably the few times I've tried to germinate seeds from A.
balcanicus/hungaricus...now, I know what to do.  Thanks for posting
that, Paul.

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@hort.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
-----------------------------------------------
Current Article: Wild, Wonderful Aroids Part Two - Elephant Ears,
Alocasia, Colocasia &  Xanthosoma
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/shade_gardening
------------------------------------------------
Complete Index of Articles by Category and Date
http://mtalt.hort.net/article-index.html
------------------------------------------------
All Suite101.com garden topics :
http://www.suite101.com/topics.cfm/635
----------
> From: Meum71@aol.com
>
> I have five seedlings from a test germination, and am wondering how
fast
> these plants grow.  I am hoping they are slow growing because I do
not have a
> lot of space to keep them over our long Minnesota winter.
>
> I soaked 5 seeds in hot water for two days replacing the water
every 12 hours
> with new hot water, sowed them by covering the seeds about 1/4 inch
deep and
> kept the pots at F 65.  Germination started in about four days with
the last
> seed germinating in about ten days and now one week after
germination I have
> one fuzzy "leaf" from each seed coming out of the ground.  It looks
like this
> is a plant that produces a deep tap root right away.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index