Bear’s breeches in bloom
need lots of room to grow

Flowers appear in J uly. can last into September

HAVE YOU ever seen 3
bear’s breeches? No, this is
no invitation to rummage
through Smokey’s under-
things; Jam speaking of
members of the acanthus
family. ,

Why anyone ever decided to call
them bear’s breeches is beyond |
me...
1 must be missing something

because 1 find nothing about this
plani that reminds me of bears,
. breeches or even Goldilocks.

If there is anyone out there who
can enlighten me, I would love to
hear from you.

At any rate, I may be missing
the point as far ay the name of
. this plant goes, but it is ex-
ceedingly difficult to miss the
point of the plant; or r should I say
points? -

If you are averse to having
armed plants in the garden, !
would suggest that you skip ahead

“ to the sports section; this one is
definitely not for you.

The kidding aside, these are
great plants.

- You may want to grow them for

4&4 Can make a major

contribution to the large-scale

perennial bed.99

their handsome foliage which is a
dark, lustrous green anc deeply
cut with many lobes.

Then again, it may be the bold

Spike of tubular, white and
“ maroon flowers. Both can make a

major contribution to the large-
scale perennial bed.

I say large-scale because these
are not small plants. The flower
spikes easily reach two and some-
times four feet in height, and the
body of the plant should be given

- at least as much room to spread.
' - And spread they will; if you are

not careful to restrain the rapidly
running roots, you will soon have
bear’s breeches all over the place.

For this reason I suggest that
you choose a location that con-
tains the plant in some way.
Whether it be a planter ora
pocket in the rocks, it is best to
Testrict its growth.

Do not let the lack of sucha
situation stop you from benefit-
ting from this plant.

Use some heavy-duty landscape
fabric to quickly and easily con-
struct an underground enclosure in
which to plant i it.

Other criteria for a good acan-
thus-growing site include moist,
rich soil and partial to full shade.

It will tolerate sunny, dry spots,
but best results are obtained in
those areas of the landscape that
can provide the conditions men-
tioned above.

5/4X4 TREATED DECKING
SUPA CEDAR (orown) . 44¢ lin. ft.
SUPA TIMBER (green) 41¢ lin. ft.
102-12’ oT

The flowers appear in July and
can last on into September. The
foliage is a treat all year but it can
become ratty late in the season.

Cut the plants back to the
ground after the first frost, or no
later than early November, and
top dress with compost and
bonemeal.

Try to feave them undisturbed
until they begin to get over-
crowded. The clumps can then be
divided and replanted between the
months of November and March.

Be sure to add lots of compost
and bonemeal to the planting site
and water them well. :

There are more than 50 dif-
ferent species in the genus, two of
which deserve special mention
here. : .

See More page 15

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NEWS photo Cindy Goodman

A CLOSE t up look at a passion flower in West Vancouver's
Maple Leaf Garden Centra. The circular spikes have tradi-
tionaily been associated with a crowm of thoms.