(Dead)[Jan] Acacia Howitti

[Jan]

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Acacia Howitti Green wave
Original height of stock: 12mm (from top of pot to tip of tree)
Where you obtained it from: Nursery (went to buy a apricot for the orchard and couldn't resist this)
Cost of stock: $12.50 (on the pot in picture)

[Steven]

Hi Jan,
I think you mean 120mm? Nice stock!
Regards,
Steven

[Jan]

Yes,120mm, thanks Steven.

Jan

[Jan]

Looked hard at this one when I was branch chopping my other enteries in this comp, but left the tools in the tray for now. Lots of possibilities with this one, I'm seriously considering a weeping/cascade style but want to look twice (or maybe a few more times!) and cut once with this little acacia.

I'll look at others to see what I like about them, take a few photos of the plant for evening contemplation, consider my options and cool my heels a bit for now.

Jan.

[Jan]

Good thing we have deadlines to jog us into action..not much change here with this one. I've pretty much decided to keep most of the branching and wire it up to form sharper changes of direction (taking inspiration from the "rugged tree on cliff" style scrolls).

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A few minor branches may go as I wire to the finished shape but I like what nature and chance have done with this one so far. I will pot it on, sooner rather than later, into a deeper pot to encourage some new growth/further ramification.

Jan

[Jan]

Just root pruned this fellow - more than I had in mind trying to find the bottom of the trunk and some (hopefully) flaring roots. Found some and a base with a little flare but, yes, the roots are brittle! Being a nursery plant the roots were in a deadly tangle so I decided to go for it and try to sort them out a bit - might as well do the "live or die" work now if it survives it will be set up for the future BUT chunks came off the root ball everywhere.

I'll repot it into its final pot so it is not disturbed again for a good while. I'll bring it inside to my big bay windows (floor to ceiling, facing east) to provide a warm, sheltered micro climate to hopefully provide the best opportunity for it to recover. This position will give it natural warmth from the sun and protect it from our serious frosts here on the tablelands. The room is not heated directly and I mist the plants that live there (it's my spot for ferns) so that the air is not parched

Jan

[Jan]

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Lots of new roots

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Re-potted...I chose a pale glazed pot as a sympathetic background for the weeping foliage. I also think that this somewhat feminine, faceted, lotus patterned pot will work well with what I hope will eventually be soft, cascading, weeping foliage.
Presuming it survives my re-pot/root prune, the plant should be able to grow and put on trunk size in this pot initially, and in years to come, pruning and root pruning should be able to keep plant and pot in harmony.
Jan

[marleey73]

Love these acacias and have had a few. A couple I lost through too much damage to the root system. They don't like to be disturbed too much. Good luck with your howitti. Nice plant

[Jan]

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Here it is enjoying the morning sun. I've used charcoal to separate the branches and push them into new lines. I can leave this on forever, or at least as long as it takes to set into place, without "wire mark" worries and it is light. The rock will not be part of the final design, it is only insurance against movement so new growing roots are not at risk (no dogs here but young grandkids can be a bit of a hazard). The moss was added to keep the fine surface roots mulched and I thought that it matched the softness of plant and pot.

I gave it a trim up to balance the root removal and decided to cut off that long, cascading branch. It didn't have the taper it would need and wouldn't be likely to develop it without cutting and growing on. A few of the shorter branches got the same treatment. I'm looking for that overlapping arching that you see in bare natural weepers, with taper, so like launching into tidying up the roots for the future, the top had to be trimmed with a view to the future framework that I wanted to create.

Its new micro climate will hopefully give it a head start towards recovery. Now we wait to see if I've been too harsh

Jan

[Neli]

I love this acacia, but dont know where or how to get it.
What do Youmean by this:
I'm looking for that overlapping arching that you see in bare natural weepers

[Jan]

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I was SOOOooo worried about the amount of root that I had removed but it looks like the soft recovery environment (or plain good luck) have worked for me as the tree is growing - Phew!! The tree lost a bit of older leaf but the new lighter green growth is looking hale and hearty.

It was always a gamble but worth the risk to set up the root zone at this stage so there would be no set backs doing it at a later date.

What do Youmean by this:I'm looking for that overlapping arching that you see in bare natural weepers

Neli the "overlapping arching" pattern that I'm looking for is like the pattern of a ball bouncing down a slope (if you could see its trail in the air), or the outer curve of a pile of bubbles. When you look at natural weepers like weeping elm, you see that same pattern. When a whole tree of branches does this it looks awesome. I hope this helps you see what I'm after in a final framework.


Jan.

[Neli]

Thanks Jan. I can not figure this weeping style much.

[Jan]

Now I'm back to worried again; this tree is dropping a LOT of leaves. I'm hoping that it is just a summer thing and not a slow decline after my root prune/rearrange. I quite like the framework and would be disappointed to loose this one.

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[kcpoole]

I doubt it will be because to the root prune after this long.
I have taken off a good 1/3 of them on mine no trouble

Ken

[Roger]

Hi Jan
A lovely little tree. Picking up the two major features of this species/cultivar: the weeping habit and the sequences of connected arches, as you have described, should lead to a finely shaped miniature tree.
Like Ken, I have found no problems with strong root pruning with this species. I've removed more than half of the roots and the tree powers back.

I have found some issues with soils and nutrients. It seems to like a neutral to slightly basic soil (pH 7-8), rather than acidic. It also can suffer from iron chlorosis (treat with iron chelate). Sudden leaf drop in summer can be from sudden heat and drought of summer, or from the root issues where the tree doesn't grow back roots strongly enough to support a strong canopy.

Good luck and keep up the good work and reporting...
Roger