Bear Grass

Xerophyllum tenax

landscape grass container native droughttolerant flower perennial cutflower

Height: 3' average mature height

Hardiness Zones: 5-8 Find my zone

Aspect: half shade to full sun

Size Availability

Out of season.

Our main crop of most plants is available starting in late fall. Additional batches of plugs and quarts are usually added in May.

Many of our plants are propagated in limited quantities and can sell out quickly when posted, get on the notification list below so you don't miss out.

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Bear Grass, or Pine Lily, is one of those plants that behaves just like a clump grass but has beautiful flowers that are way more interesting than typical true grasses. Plants are evergreen and form dense clumps which typically grow about two feet tall and just as wide. In the spring each clump produces multiple flower stalks which rise three feet or more tall and begin flowering from one end to the other. Each individual blooming stalk lasts for several weeks with fresh flowers appearing at the same rate as the old flowers disappear.

Bear Grass is native to high elevation mountains in the Western U.S. and typically grows in open meadows dotted with firs and pines. The roots grow deep and make this one of the most drought tolerant clump grass style plants available, surviving long summers with no rain even on dry slopes. Bear Grass handles poor soil conditions very well and is even adapted to thrive in serpentine areas where the soil contains low levels of calcium and high levels of toxic metals such as chromite, nickel, copper, and arsenic. However, Bear Grass is not tolerant of growing in calcium-rich soils derived from limestone, or when they are irrigated with hard water.

These plants make an excellent perennial bed addition especially with their unique cream-colored flowers. You can prune plants back to the ground in late winter to freshen up your clumps but this is rarely necessary.

Out Of Production for 2023

The irrigation water at our new nursery location has high levels of calcium which makes it difficult to grow plants like Bear Grass Lily that don't like a lot of calcium or phosphorus. These plants will not be back into production for another year or two until we set up our roof runoff tank system to provide rainwater to sensitive species.

A field of bear grass in full flower.

Image Credit: Commons:Xerophyllum

Close up of the flower stalk - the top is flowering now and the bottom portion will produce flowers in the next few weeks.

Image Credit: Commons:Xerophyllum

Medium plug size

Packing Plants For Shipping

Most of our plants are shipped bare root while they are dormant from late November through April and ship via the U.S. Postal Service. Bamboo plants can be shipped in their containers year-round by UPS.

Bare root plants are soaked and wrapped together in bundles.
ictured are 10x 24 inch tall Coast Redwoods.

The bundled plants are wrapped in paper and labeled by variety.

The bundle is wetted and bagged.

Bundles of plants are secured in long boxes.

Pruning and Plant Sizes

We prune both the tops and the roots of our plants at least once per year while they are growing in our nursery to ensure they develop a strong, dense form. Regular annual pruning goes a long way to ensure a healthy branching structure and this is often a missed step in many nurseries. Pruning a plant back hard after it has been neglected pruning-wise often results in an irregular branch habit or multiple leaders so we prune early and regularly instead. We also prune the roots of our plants while they are dormant which causes them to produce a much more branched structure and helps to elimate tangled masses that hinder future development. Plants that have been root pruned establish themselves much more quickly than root bound plants. Generally, hardwood plants will be pruned in the winter and conifers will be pruned in the summer.

Before shipping plants we prune the tops and roots one last time. Conifers will usually have very little pruning except to balance out long branches. Shrubs are usually pruned to around 1-2 feet tall to encourage low branch development and small to medium sized trees are usually pruned to around 36-40 inches. Pruning trees at this height encourages dominant branches to begin forming around 3 feet from the ground which typically looks the best in most situations. However, if you want a tree to have branching start higher (some city codes require trees to not branch below 4 feet) we have longer boxes available. To request taller trees please contact us at least three days before your ship date. Depending on your location and the shipping routes there may be a fee for oversize package handling (usually about $15 for a 60 inch box).

Tall trees (Oaks, Ginkgo, large Maples, etc.) are pruned to 40 inches to encourage crown development from about 36 inches and up

Small and medium trees (short Maples, Redbuds, Stewartia, etc.) are pruned 10-20 inches above the prune line from last year

Shrubs (Weigela, Hydrangea, Viburnum, etc.) are pruned to 18 inches tall and root pruned one last time

Small plug size

Bamboo Plants Are Shipped In Their Containers

Bamboo roots are not flexible and so plants have to be shipped in their containers. These plants are heavier and are shipped separately from bare root plants. Because they are potted they can handle longer transit times so can ship via UPS Ground instead of USPS Air Mail. Potted plants can also be shipped year-round.

We regularly top our 1 gallon bamboo plants at 24-30 inches tall throughout the growing season. This results in dense, bushy foliage while allowing for economical shipping. From this size most running species will grow to 5-6 feet tall in the first spring and clumping species will usually grow to 4-5 feet tall.

1 gallon bamboo plants strapped in and ready to be sealed.

Unpacking Bare Root Plants

You will be sent tracking details as soon as your plants are shipped. Unpack your plants as quickly as possible after they are delivered. We use two types of boxes, side-sealing and top-sealing. For boxes that are taped along the whole length you can cut the tape on either side and remove the plant bundles by cutting the tape holding the bundle to the bottom. For boxes that are sealed on the top and bottom, it is easiet to open the bottom of the box (the shipping label is at the top) and pull the bundle of plants out straight out. Check that the box is empty as there can be a second bundle of plants stuck towards the top.

A bundle of trees.

When you are ready to plant, remove the trees from the plastic and soak the roots in a bucket of water for 30 seconds. Do not expose the roots to direct sunlight and do not allow them to dry out. When planting large quantities of plants we keep the plants in a black garbage bag to keep all sun and air flow away from the roots and pull each plant as soon as the planting hole is ready. Water the soil well right after planting.

What if I am not able to plant right away?

You can usually leave the plants in their shipping container unopened for 1-2 days if there were no shipping delays and you have received your plants from late November through February. Plants shipped when it is warmer can't stay in their packages for as long.

Size Availability