Its near impossible to tell from that photo, but bottom left looks maybe more like floribunda.. the rest look like typical acuminata seedlings to me? Do you know how many of each you planted?
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Botany The Acacia Grow Thread
- Thread starter acacian
- Start date
Growing logs with advice and results.
Phyllode_Pickler
Esteemed member
You got it 100%
The 3 taller plants are acuminata and the short plant is the floribunda (bottom left)
Hehe glad my eyes are in check.. what variety of acuminata in that photo? And curious was your floribunda seed collected or purchased?
Phyllode_Pickler
Esteemed member
The acuminata is a narrow phyllode variety, I don't know the exact details of the floribunda the person that gave the seeds to me was given them from another person, they were growing Acacia looking for extraction material. I was lead to believe that it may be an active floribunda, in 2-3 years I'll find out.
I have found a local source offering two different acuminata in zone 9b, I'm in 9a I might also try both of those varieties too. It was another narrow phyllode and a normal phyllode variety.
Ok cool.. you shouldn’t have any problems growing narrow phyllode in your area.. during the seedling stage I would keep them in a greenhouse for winter if possible. Next winter they should be established enough. Do you get heavy frosts?
Hardening my plants before the first frost hits. Moving into my own home finally so will be putting some in the ground. I’m aware winter isn’t the best time to put plants in the ground, however, since I have so many plants it will at the very least let me know if it was the right move or not. I won’t put any in the ground that I haven’t grown a lot of.
Below some shots of their final days before finding a new home. Also a couple shots of a few NP acuminata which are 6 months old and some Acacia granitica which are a bit over a year old. Acuminata definitely are slower growers than most of my other plants. Once in the ground they should really take off though.
Hardening my plants before the first frost hits. Moving into my own home finally so will be putting some in the ground. I’m aware winter isn’t the best time to put plants in the ground, however, since I have so many plants it will at the very least let me know if it was the right move or not. I won’t put any in the ground that I haven’t grown a lot of.
Below some shots of their final days before finding a new home. Also a couple shots of a few NP acuminata which are 6 months old and some Acacia granitica which are a bit over a year old. Acuminata definitely are slower growers than most of my other plants. Once in the ground they should really take off though.
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Didn’t realize I could upload video.. so here is the “white willow” floribunda swaying in the wind during a light shower 
Followed by a little tour of the greenhouse
Followed by a little tour of the greenhouse
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brokedownpalace10
Established member
I still don't think I've seen an active Acacia hardy in zone 6.
Acacia Phlebophylla is an alpine plant and would probably do fine, You’d be surprised how tough Acacia floribundas is .. very cold and drought hardy.
brokedownpalace10
Established member
I'm still seeing zone 7 on the phlebophylla and zone 8 on the floribunda. I should grow the phlebophylla just to try to shepherd it since it's endangered and all.
Have you tried the Desmanthus seeds? I have a bunch of plants coming up. I'll prolly make them available on the forum again this fall.
I wouldn’t look too deeply into the zone thing.. people grow acacia outside of their environment often and they can adapt. At the very least is worth giving em a go.. germinate them in spring and they should be nice and established come winter.
As a testament to phlebophylla’s toughness, I’ve had a few tiny seedlings (with only their soft compound leaves) survive a whole winter with plenty of -9 nights/early mornings. The ones in my posts are those survivors. Many of my floribunda also survived winter during seedling stage and the larger ones I have are those survivors.. they won’t like it when they’re really young and some may die, but once established they will be more resistant than you might think. Of course your winters are probably going to be quite a bit colder than here, but I still think they have a chance.. Phlebophylla is an alpine plant that grows at high altitude. It’s natural environment in winter is snow
No harm in germinating a few in the warmer months and seeing how they go.
I haven’t tried the desmanthus seeds yet for this reason.. when spring comes I will sow them so that they can be strong come the next winter. We will get our first frost any day now so they will die if I plant them now I think. I will put some photos up when I do though!
I take the temp guides for plants with a healthy grain of salt.. often they just need to adapt. Again.. plant em early and start hardening them ASAP
As a testament to phlebophylla’s toughness, I’ve had a few tiny seedlings (with only their soft compound leaves
) survive a whole winter with plenty of -9 nights/early mornings. The ones in my posts are those survivors. Many of my floribunda also survived winter during seedling stage and the larger ones I have are those survivors.. they won’t like it when they’re really young and some may die, but once established they will be more resistant than you might think. Of course your winters are probably going to be quite a bit colder than here, but I still think they have a chance.. Phlebophylla is an alpine plant that grows at high altitude. It’s natural environment in winter is snowNo harm in germinating a few in the warmer months and seeing how they go.
I haven’t tried the desmanthus seeds yet for this reason.. when spring comes I will sow them so that they can be strong come the next winter. We will get our first frost any day now so they will die if I plant them now I think. I will put some photos up when I do though!
I take the temp guides for plants with a healthy grain of salt.. often they just need to adapt. Again.. plant em early and start hardening them ASAP
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Thanks @CheeseCat!Congrats on the house!! Look at those shaggy floribunda! And your Phlebophylla look amazing
The last photo is Acacia granitica.. it’s phyllodes share some similarities with acuminata but is also quite different. Flowers are shorter to the point of looking like balls.. but they are more like short interrupted rods. Flowers are paler and it is more of an erect shrub.. doesn’t grow in Western Oz
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brokedownpalace10
Established member
You talked me into it. I'll see if anyone has seeds to trade as I go.I wouldn’t look too deeply into the zone thing.. people grow acacia outside of their environment often and they can adapt. At the very least is worth giving em a go.. germinate them in spring and they should be nice and established come winter.
As a testament to phlebophylla’s toughness, I’ve had a few tiny seedlings (with only their soft compound leaves
No harm in germinating a few in the warmer months and seeing how they go.
I haven’t tried the desmanthus seeds yet for this reason.. when spring comes I will sow them so that they can be strong come the next winter. We will get our first frost any day now so they will die if I plant them now I think. I will put some photos up when I do though!
I take the temp guides for plants with a healthy grain of salt.. often they just need to adapt. Again.. plant em early and start hardening them ASAP
This is really just a bookmark post to note I'll be going for germinating some retinodes seeds now-ish. Also I'm posting because I can't entirely be bothered to search for the best germination tips rn, so if anyone would care to do me a small favour and dig out the best links I'd be very grateful. (It's late and I'm in a hurry <looks at pocket watch and scurries back down rabbit hole>)
Hey @Transform
If germinating a small amount of seeds I would recommend the below method .. it is for me the technique that always gets the highest germination rates:
Rub outer seed coat with a fine nail file or some very fine grit sand paper.. you don’t need to be aggressive in this step as you don’t want to damage the inner part of the seed. Start by filing just a little and then soak in cold water. If the seed starts to swell then you have filed it down enough. Let soak in cold water for 24 hrs.
Place swollen seeds on a damp paper towel in a container and cover with a mug. Don’t use a glass.. you want it to be dark. Then place in a cupboard .. any seeds that didn’t swell may be filed down a little more and soaked again.
After a couple days you should see them start to sprout. If the towell looks like it’s going moldy then rinse seeds and place on fresh towell.
Prepare a potting medium of coarse river sand, peat moss/coco coir and perlite at a ratio of 65:25:5. I like to wet the medium a little first and pack it into a small pot/tube. Press it down a little to compress it.. this will stop it coming out the pot when you water it soon, as can be an issue when using sand.
Poke a very small hole in the centre of the surface and place the seed with the sprouted end (the “eye”) facing down into your medium. Cover with another 1cm of medium. Press gently.. if you press it too firmly you’ll risk damaging the sprout. If not firmly enough then the seed can push itself out of the medium.
This way will get very good germination rates. Once sown you should see them come up after a few days to a week. If sown in a germination tray, wait a couple weeks for the seedlings to establish before transplanting. If you move them too early they will die.. best to let the tap root develop a little.
You can also boil your seeds to swell them and either do the paper towel method or sow straight into your potting medium. Cold “nik and soak” works better but is more finicky.. hence why I recommend it when dealing with small amounts of seed. You will get a nicer colour change with your seeds with cold water, which indicates the seed “waking up” before germinating.
Below some seeds that have sprouted and a couple pics of sowing them. I’ll see if I have any videos lying around for you.
If germinating a small amount of seeds I would recommend the below method .. it is for me the technique that always gets the highest germination rates:
Rub outer seed coat with a fine nail file or some very fine grit sand paper.. you don’t need to be aggressive in this step as you don’t want to damage the inner part of the seed. Start by filing just a little and then soak in cold water. If the seed starts to swell then you have filed it down enough. Let soak in cold water for 24 hrs.
Place swollen seeds on a damp paper towel in a container and cover with a mug. Don’t use a glass.. you want it to be dark. Then place in a cupboard .. any seeds that didn’t swell may be filed down a little more and soaked again.
After a couple days you should see them start to sprout. If the towell looks like it’s going moldy then rinse seeds and place on fresh towell.
Prepare a potting medium of coarse river sand, peat moss/coco coir and perlite at a ratio of 65:25:5. I like to wet the medium a little first and pack it into a small pot/tube. Press it down a little to compress it.. this will stop it coming out the pot when you water it soon, as can be an issue when using sand.
Poke a very small hole in the centre of the surface and place the seed with the sprouted end (the “eye”) facing down into your medium. Cover with another 1cm of medium. Press gently.. if you press it too firmly you’ll risk damaging the sprout. If not firmly enough then the seed can push itself out of the medium.
This way will get very good germination rates. Once sown you should see them come up after a few days to a week. If sown in a germination tray, wait a couple weeks for the seedlings to establish before transplanting. If you move them too early they will die.. best to let the tap root develop a little.
You can also boil your seeds to swell them and either do the paper towel method or sow straight into your potting medium. Cold “nik and soak” works better but is more finicky.. hence why I recommend it when dealing with small amounts of seed. You will get a nicer colour change with your seeds with cold water, which indicates the seed “waking up” before germinating.
Below some seeds that have sprouted and a couple pics of sowing them. I’ll see if I have any videos lying around for you.
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Here is a video of sowing seeds.. you don’t need to let the sprout get so long like in this video.. if you do be extra careful to make sure it is anchored downwards. Once you slip it in the little hole, gently press the soil around the sides of the root.
Don’t cover with too much medium.. 1cm pressed gently will be fine. You want enough that it doesn’t push itself out of the soil, but not so much that it gets lost and grows in the wrong direction.
Until you see it sprout out of the soil, misting it is best as it is less likely to displace the seed, as can happen with a watering can.
Don’t cover with too much medium.. 1cm pressed gently will be fine. You want enough that it doesn’t push itself out of the soil, but not so much that it gets lost and grows in the wrong direction.
Until you see it sprout out of the soil, misting it is best as it is less likely to displace the seed, as can happen with a watering can.
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Godspeed and a smooth road deck for you!Acacias on the move! Cross your fingers for me
Reminds me of my move with all my plants - at least you won't have any explaining to do at customs
Above all, thanks for going to the trouble of preparing such clear instructions while in the midst of your preparations for moving
Thank you! Yeah no customs issues.. was a 5 min drive up the roadGodspeed and a smooth road deck for you!
Reminds me of my move with all my plants - at least you won't have any explaining to do at customs
Above all, thanks for going to the trouble of preparing such clear instructions while in the midst of your preparations for moving
And it’s my pleasure, if you have any more questions don’t hesitate to ask! Look forward to seeing your progress. Will you test it for alkaloids one day? It’s a very promising species retinodes..