Your Guide to Bear’s Breech
Grow bear’s breech (Acanthus mollis) for bold, sculptural blooms
A good choice for a garden accent, a thriving clump of perennial bear’s breeches (Acanthus mollis) has a bold, sculptural look—and when bloom time comes, it provides a strong vertical effect as well. Borne on arching stems, the dark green 2-foot-long leaves are attractively lobed; in some species, the leaf margins are spiny. Rigid Acanthus flower spikes rise to a height of 3 to 4 feet, set with tubular blossoms surrounded by spiny bracts (modified leaves).