Acacia - Growing Guide

Growing Acacia

Commonly known as ‘Mimosa’

Acacia dealbata is the hardiest, best known and most widely grown in the UK of these Australian plants. A. pravissima, A. baileyana and A. rhetinodes are not far behind it in hardiness and will grow exponentially in a warm sunny situation with protection from cold winds in much of the south of England. A. rhetinodes and A. longifolia are also lime tolerant. Acacias flower at a young age and, with their speed of growth, they are well worth the risk in the current run of mild winters. If disaster strikes in a cold winter the plants are easily replaced and you will have had good value from them in the previous years.

Acacia dealbataclick for larger image
Acacia dealbata
Acacia dealbataclick for larger image
Acacia dealbata
Acacia dealbataclick for larger image
Acacia dealbata
With us A. dealbata has grown to at least 30ft in an open south facing situation. A. baileyana and A. baileyana ‘Purpurea’ have survived and flowered away directly outside our packing shed where they certainly catch the east winds. We give A. pravissima more wind protection, but it too has flourished for 12 to 15 years by the mist houses untouched by frost.
Acacia baileyanaclick for larger image
Acacia baileyana
Acacia baileyanaclick for larger image
Acacia baileyana
Acacia baileyanaclick for larger image
Acacia baileyana
Acacia baileyanaclick for larger image
Acacia baileyana
In frost prone areas grow your acacias against a sunny west or south facing wall. In milder areas they can be grown as specimen plants in full sun in reasonably fertile soil which may dry out in summer. Acacias do not like being hard pruned and they do not need to be except perhaps where they impede a path. Give them enough room for this not to be a problem.

The ultimate size of your acacias will depend on the mildness or otherwise of conditions in your garden but they are all small trees, A. dealbata is a large tree.

All acacias flower in winter or spring. With us A. pravissima is normally the first out in February and A. baileyana is usually the last in April but this can be variable from season to season and rather depends on when the milder spring weather arrives. More acacia are probably killed when in full growth in spring than by late frosts when dormant.

Acacia seeds, if you find them after a dry summer, are readily grown in containers in the greenhouse when sown in the spring with bottom heat. A. dealbata comes up like mustard and cress to give you hundreds of seedlings.

These plants are grown for their wattle flowers but also for their foliage which is very attractive and different in different species. Some species have leaf spines rather than leaves.

There are hundreds of acacia species that can be grown in greenhouses rather than the garden. Those we offer are all suitable for milder UK gardens and, especially, coastal ones. Wind is not the problem but cold is. The variation in forms of this huge genus are too numerous to describe in detail here but the photographs should allow you to select the forms which you like most.
Acacia pravissimaclick for larger image
Acacia pravissima
Acacia pravissimaclick for larger image
Acacia pravissima
Acacia pravissimaclick for larger image
Acacia pravissima
Acacia pravissimaclick for larger image
Acacia pravissima
Acacia retinodesclick for larger image
Acacia retinodes
Acacia verticillataclick for larger image
Acacia verticillata

Summer propagation - Video Tip


Spotlight on 4 Acacias - Video Tip

 

0:00 - A. baileyana, not in flower
2:04 - A. pravissima, not in flower
3:09 - A. cultriformis, in flower / large bush
5:13 - A. melanoxylon, in flower / tree


Plants


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