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Succulent · Asparagaceae Draft — unreviewed

Bear grass

Nolina microcarpa S.Watson

Also called bear grass, sacahuista.

Fountain of long, wiry grass-like leaves from a woody base, with plumes of cream flowers. Softer than agaves and yuccas for planting near paths.

Size over time

Typical landscape size 0.9–1.2 m (3–4 ft) tall and 1.2–1.5 m (4–5 ft) wide; slow growth, about 8 years to maturity. Intermediate sizes use the planner’s growth curve (k = 0.12) from the #5 install size.

00.511.52mPlanting0.4 × 0.4 mYear 30.6 × 0.7 mYear 100.9 × 1.1 mMature1.1 × 1.4 m

Design notes

  • Very drought- and cold-tolerant once rooted.
  • Remove dead inner leaves by hand, not by shearing.

Regions

Native range: Arizona, New Mexico, west Texas and northern Mexico.

Native to these OpenLandscape3D pilot regions:

Southwest

Native status describes where the species occurs naturally. It is not a promise that it suits a particular garden; site conditions decide that.

Related plants

Parry's agave
Agave parryi · Succulent · 0.5–0.6 m (1–2 ft)
Saguaro
Carnegiea gigantea · Succulent · 4.5–12 m (15–39 ft)
Desert spoon
Dasylirion wheeleri · Succulent · 0.9–1.5 m (3–5 ft)
Engelmann's hedgehog cactus
Echinocereus engelmannii · Succulent · 0.2–0.5 m (0–1 ft)
Fishhook barrel cactus
Ferocactus wislizeni · Succulent · 0.6–1.5 m (2–5 ft)
Ocotillo
Fouquieria splendens · Succulent · 2.4–4.5 m (8–15 ft)

Plan with Bear grass

Place it in a design, check it against your zone, light and moisture, and see it at year three and year ten.

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