Other Names:  Texas Sacahuista, Basket Grass, Bunchgrass

Description:

A slow growing, grassy succulent shrub with long, sea-green, weeping leaves radiating from a central woody stem; mature rosettes produce a stalk of white flowers in spring and early summer; use as a focal accent flowing over a wall or hillside

Ornamental Features

Texas Beargrass features bold spikes of fragrant white bell-shaped flowers with creamy white overtones held atop the branches from early spring to early summer. It has attractive bluish-green evergreen foliage. The grassy leaves are highly ornamental and remain bluish-green throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Texas Beargrass is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a rounded form and gracefully weeping branches. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which should be used to full effect.

This shrub will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and should not require much pruning, except when necessary, such as to remove dieback. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Texas Beargrass is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Texas Beargrass will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 6 feet. It has a low canopy. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 40 years or more.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is native to parts of North America.

Texas Beargrass makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. It can be used either as 'filler' or as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, depending on the height and form of the other plants used in the container planting. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.