Nolina nelsonii

Description

Nolina nelsonii, commonly known as the ‘Blue Beargrass Tree’, is a spectacular member of the Nolina family.  A Yucca like plant forming a sturdy trunk up to 2m in height, topped with elegant strap-like blue-grey leaves which can form a magnificent crown approaching 2 metres in diameter.  

Originally from the dry desert, often mountainous regions of Tamaulipas in Northern Mexico.  Nolina nelsonii has evolved to cope with hot, dry and cool sometimes freezing temperatures at night.  This ability to cope with temperatures down to -15 degrees makes the ‘Blue Beargrass’ interesting to us.  Given good drainage there is every possibility to grow this exciting plant here in the UK gardens.

At Big Plant Nursery we would suggest raised beds in full sun as ideal unless you have very free draining soil, and a little protection from snow if you are unlucky enough to see the white stuff.  

In summary a brilliant plant for drier soils especially in urban or coastal gardens where Nolina nelsonii can grow quite rapidly into a spectacular specimen.