After the arrival of the train, flowers could be quickly transported from the Mediterranean coast to the big cities in Northern Europe. The cut flower trade started to take off after 1871. Farmers re-planted land with acacia trees, because of the high profit margins. New hybrids were cultivated, and trees were grafted onto stems of A. retinoides to better cope with the alkaline soil of the Cannes area. Different grafting methods are used: At first grafting by approachment, then chip bud grafting. There is also some success with cuttings.
Today the cultivated trees are nearly all hybrids between Acacia dealbata and Acacia baileyana. They are called Mirandole, Rustica, Gaulois etc.. There remain some plantations of A. retinoides var. Imperialis, the Mimosa of 4 Seasons.
The cultivars of Southern France have dark green leaves, which harmonise perfectly with the yellow flower. Harvest is between December to March. It is all very small family business with appr. 200 ha cultivated land. In 2002 the amount harvested was about 600.000 kg, shipped in 200.000 boxes a 3kg, with a turnover of about 3,0 Mio to 4,0 Mio Euros. Flowers are mainly exported to Northern Europe (Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Norway), the US, Canada and Japan.
The old method of forcing the flowers to open shortly before they go to the market is not much more in use. To increase durability of the cut flowers, special chemicals have been developed, which are added to the water during the forcing procedure or at the customers end.
In retail (Southern France) a bouquet sells for 3-4 Euro.
The farmers supplement their business by growing different Eucalyptus species as a component for floral displays.
The major enemies of the acacia in the region are
a) frost, which can go below -12 o C, killing trees
b) fires; The eucalyptus, planted between acacia trees, helps as a fire barrier.
c) land development .