Dunno @NormandyLiz - they aren't a problem here. It might be a bit of a pain to do it. I'd guess you'd need to think along the lines of a foot deep at least for a barrier, but I can't remember what the root systems are like - too long since I've grown it.
Not sure they'd thrive in a pot - unless it was pretty big. Again - not something I've ever done, but someone else might have tried it and been successful
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I wouldn't invest in lots of the same form a waste of money. This winter it has been blackened by frost but new shoots are appearing a lovely golden colour. If it is frosty again in the next few weeks the same may happen but I am not concerned it will be fine. It also flowers well in full sun. Winter 2022 it was lovely large golden/ green leaves. My soil is clay which means more of a fight to remove maybe. The roots do go along way down leave a piece and off it goes again. I grew mine from a small piece given to me by a client easy to grow from nothing.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
I had Acanthus Mollis in my old garden in Dordogne. It grew into big clumps but didn't spread by its roots. It did seed itself though so I ended up with more than I wanted as I was rather lazy about cutting the flowers off before they went to seed. It is a beautiful, rather magnificent plant if you have the space.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
How interesting to read everyone's ideas. I would say do not touch it with a barge pole. A friend had some which took over the garden, he was always grumbling about the roots going down to Australia and how invasive it can be. I am sure, if conditions and location suit it, it will spread. If it has to struggle to grow it will not be such a pain, as with many other plants. I would certainly only plant one root, give it a year or two to see what it does, and if it takes off you will have to decide whether to plant more or dig it out.
Once the seedlings are big enough plants, why not plant one per large black nursery pot with handles, I have some about 35cm dia x 50cm deep, which should contain them. Sink them into the ground down to the rim, handles above ground, butting the pots close up together to form a clump if you wish. Easy to periodically lift and check the roots aren’t growing out the bottom and easy to redistribute or remove entirely if they approach monster proportions!
Anything with fleshy roots is a nightmare here, so I won’t plant anything like that directly in the ground unless they are contained in sunken pots.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
You typed before I did, @Nollie. I know we have some biggish pots sitting round that I could use. I was also thinking of a layer of something to further deter any idea of escape. It's what I was also planning for the dreaded mint, useful, pretty, good for insects but oh what a pain when it spreads!
I hadn't thought of the idea of lifting and checking, but that's a great one. Thank you very much for that.
When we were in Crete, admittedly somewhat warmer temperatures than the norm here, we saw huge areas covered with it. The lady we were with is a botanist and said it was a disaster once it established as it's virtually impossible to get rid of.
I find those black pots with handles useful for all sorts of purposes and really cheap to boot, but any pot you can grip and lift will do. You need plenty of drainage holes but I have used mosquito netting as a further barrier inside the pots as it’s fine enough to stop most roots but still lets water drain through. Doubled over jeycloth on a roll is another option 😊
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
I also have a ready supply of summer scarves/net curtains, I thought one of those would do the trick. I volunteer at a sort of charity shop and the unsaleable ones go to recycling, or my garden.
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I'd guess you'd need to think along the lines of a foot deep at least for a barrier, but I can't remember what the root systems are like - too long since I've grown it.
Not sure they'd thrive in a pot - unless it was pretty big. Again - not something I've ever done, but someone else might have tried it and been successful
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Winter 2022 it was lovely large golden/ green leaves. My soil is clay which means more of a fight to remove maybe. The roots do go along way down leave a piece and off it goes again. I grew mine from a small piece given to me by a client easy to grow from nothing.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
I am sure, if conditions and location suit it, it will spread. If it has to struggle to grow it will not be such a pain, as with many other plants.
I would certainly only plant one root, give it a year or two to see what it does, and if it takes off you will have to decide whether to plant more or dig it out.
Anything with fleshy roots is a nightmare here, so I won’t plant anything like that directly in the ground unless they are contained in sunken pots.
I hadn't thought of the idea of lifting and checking, but that's a great one. Thank you very much for that.