Our acanthus in the garden are looking absolutely superb now. This clump of Acanthus ‘Morning Candle’ was particularly photo worthy with its 4′ tall flower spikes and shiny, lobed basal foliage. We find that very open light shade to a few hours of morning sun produces the best floral shows. Acanthus require little in the way of maintenance, remove spent flower stalks when they are no longer attractive, cutting them to the ground and remove unattractive foliage as necessary. The foliage is attractive most of the year especially if there is adequate moisture in summer. Acanthus are very drought tolerant but will deal with drought in summer by going dormant, returning in fall as soil moisture increases.
