Acacia Saligna "Sprintime Cascade"

[Keels]

Gday everyone,

This is a Acacia Saligna "Sprintime Cascade". It doesn't look like much but i think it has potential. I picked up this beauty at Cool Natives in Canberra. I love wattles and i love weeping trees so im pretty happy with my purchase. The tree is meant to get round fluffy flowers which im excited for. I was actually there looking for river red gums but they are out at the moment.

Acacia saligna.jpg

details.jpg

So i was assessing what i could possible do with this tree this afternoon. Here are afew different angles.

Acacia top view.jpg

different view.jpg

Acacia .jpg

I have drawn in paint the two different directions i think i could take.

Direction option 1.

Acacia direction 1.jpg

Direction option 2.

Acacia direction 2.jpg

What i envision is something like this crude drawing...

concept.jpg

I hoping to get a little input into what i was thinking. Am i crazy to attempt to design this or should i go something more free flowing full cascade style? Does anyone has some examples out there for other Acacias?

[Watto]

There are no words of wisdom from me in relation to styling but maybe if you wait until say October the tree may talk to you and give you some more ideas?

[internode]

Hi Keels, hate to dishearten you, no encouragement for Bonsai culture from me Im afraid, this family resent root pruning, are quick growers but sadly short lived. Nice addition to the native garden, unlike the River Red Gum, unsuitable for both. Quite a few other Aus natives much more deserving of your time than the wattle. Nonetheless it would an experience for you to give it a go. All the best.

[Keels]

Hi Keels, hate to dishearten you, no encouragement for Bonsai culture from me Im afraid, this family resent root pruning, are quick growers but sadly short lived. Nice addition to the native garden, unlike the River Red Gum, unsuitable for both. Quite a few other Aus natives much more deserving of your time than the wattle. Nonetheless it would an experience for you to give it a go. All the best.

Thanks internode, I'm not disheartened maybe feel a bit foolish rushing in purchasing sometime I hadn't researched much

From what I can see it's apart of the Fabaceae family? Correct? I see it shares the same family as Acacia howittii. So could possibly be hope

I have done a little research tonight and found someone is using this exact type of tree in the Victorian native bonsai club. Plus I've had a lot of success with silver wattles.

[Raging Bull]

Hi Keels, if you're going with option 1 I suggest you get rid of that large L.H. branch asap, otherwise you'll end up with a very large scar. Good luck with it.

[GavinG]

Enjoy the journey, but I have to agree, they don't last long and don't like root pruning. Mine was promising while it lasted, and then it didn't...

Some Acacias will last 10-15 years, A. howitii maybe 40 or 50, A. aneura (mulga) more like 400 years. Arid zone Acacias tend to be longer lived. Also not real happy about root pruning, take it gently but don't be put off.

Also there are some lovely small-leafed Eucs at Cool Country nursery that might give more joy than the larger-leafed River Red - E. crenulata, E.bridgesiana, E. parvula, E. dalrympleana, E. stellulata - plenty to choose from.

Gavin

[Keels]

... take it gently but don't be put off.

Also there are some lovely small-leafed Eucs at Cool Country nursery that might give more joy than the larger-leafed River Red - E. crenulata, E.bridgesiana, E. parvula, E. dalrympleana, E. stellulata - plenty to choose from.

Gavin

Thanks Gavin. Like I was saying to internode I think a little more research might have paid off but I'll continue with it, record what I've learnt and more onto bigger things afterwards.

I have recently purchased some E. Melliodora but I'll look into those other ones you have suggested.

Cheers Keels.

[Jan]

I have a E. Melliodora that is now 9 (?) years old and the leaves have reduced quite a bit (and I can be a bit of a plant killer). It seems to have forgiven me most of my horticultural sins.

I'm building new branching and so far, so good.

As for the Acacia, you never know if you don't give it a go - enjoy it while it lasts.

Jan.

[Starfox]

For what it's worth I'm fairly sure I have one of these in training, at first I thought it could be a longifolia or melanoxylon but the flowers on the parent tree match more with the saligna and the wattle key tends to back that up.

I can only share my experience with it and to be fair it's mostly positive.
So my neighbour has one and it has clearly spread all around via seeds as it is highly invasive here and one day I ventured into the vacant block next door with the idea of digging one of the small ones that had popped up. It turned out to be more ripped out of the ground than carefully dug up and I ended up with 3 small plants to pot up.

The first thing I noticed was the roots released an unpleasant smell of onions which is apparently normal when under stress. I potted them up and just let them sit, over winter they started to go downhill and I basically gave up on them but come spring one plant started to reshoot from the base. It kept growing for the season and seemed healthy enough so I swapped the potting mix for a more DE/lava rock mix and wired it a little. Last year(I think) I decided to reduce the roots and put it in a shallow, black, plastic training bonsai pot. No smell of onions this time and the start of some fine feeder roots too.

It responds to pruning with back budding but then again it responds to warm weather with back budding so you should have plenty of options.
Wire it wire early while it's flexible because once the wood sets it sets solid. I have wired a full loop in my trunk which didn't seem to bother it either.
The leaves or more correctly phyllodes are big and ungainly, more so on young growth. From observing the mature trees it seems they will likely reduce size more with letting the foliage fill out and age. Not sure defoliation would work for reduction as it will just throw out big juvenile growth again but would encourage budding.

If i can keep one alive after all I have done to it then it seems tough enough. I was hoping for flowers this year but unless I see flower buds forming soon then I think I have missed out again. In a month or two I'll reassess the roots and see if it needs to be repotted again or can wait another year. It grows quickly and appears to be bulking up a little in the small pot as well.

So I'd keep at it, you never know what you might end up with.

[Keels]

For what it's worth I'm fairly sure I have one of these in training, at first I thought it could be a longifolia or melanoxylon but the flowers on the parent tree match more with the saligna and the wattle key tends to back that up.

I can only share my experience with it and to be fair it's mostly positive.
So my neighbour has one and it has clearly spread all around via seeds as it is highly invasive here and one day I ventured into the vacant block next door with the idea of digging one of the small ones that had popped up. It turned out to be more ripped out of the ground than carefully dug up and I ended up with 3 small plants to pot up.

The first thing I noticed was the roots released an unpleasant smell of onions which is apparently normal when under stress. I potted them up and just let them sit, over winter they started to go downhill and I basically gave up on them but come spring one plant started to reshoot from the base. It kept growing for the season and seemed healthy enough so I swapped the potting mix for a more DE/lava rock mix and wired it a little. Last year(I think) I decided to reduce the roots and put it in a shallow, black, plastic training bonsai pot. No smell of onions this time and the start of some fine feeder roots too.

It responds to pruning with back budding but then again it responds to warm weather with back budding so you should have plenty of options.
Wire it wire early while it's flexible because once the wood sets it sets solid. I have wired a full loop in my trunk which didn't seem to bother it either.
The leaves or more correctly phyllodes are big and ungainly, more so on young growth. From observing the mature trees it seems they will likely reduce size more with letting the foliage fill out and age. Not sure defoliation would work for reduction as it will just throw out big juvenile growth again but would encourage budding.

If i can keep one alive after all I have done to it then it seems tough enough. I was hoping for flowers this year but unless I see flower buds forming soon then I think I have missed out again. In a month or two I'll reassess the roots and see if it needs to be repotted again or can wait another year. It grows quickly and appears to be bulking up a little in the small pot as well.

So I'd keep at it, you never know what you might end up with.

Thanks for the encouragement and sharing how you've been going with your tree

If you get a chance could I ask kindly for a picture of your tree. I'm interested in see how it looks as I'm trying to work out a direction in style for mine

Cheers starfox

[Starfox]

Well not a lot to see as it is still a young plant but this was it in June last year after I was sure it recovered from the repot. Not overly sure where it is headed, going for a tall and skinny kind of look. The lower branch is mainly a sacrifice and maybe a future jin. I want to close the loop off and extend the leader up a bit more then have a kind of weepy look to it with the foliage at the top.
It threw out a bunch of side branches since that photo that in retrospect I should of removed to keep the leader growing but in the last 8 months the trunk has doubled and started to grey/blacken up losing that brown colour.

Still like I say not much to see, nothing special anyways.

IMG_5714des.jpg

[boom64]

Hi Keels, Here is a photo of my A.Longifolia .Have had for several years ,a collected tree so I think it must have a bit of age. .I root prune every year in summer does not seem to resent it.Has been kind to me and flowers every year. This year I have overpotted it in the hope of putting on a bit more growth. Hang on to the Salinga it looks like you could get a pretty interesting tree out of it. Nice angles to work with and a flower is always a bonus. Cheers John.

[Keels]

Well not a lot to see as it is still a young plant but this was it in June last year after I was sure it recovered from the repot. Not overly sure where it is headed, going for a tall and skinny kind of look. The lower branch is mainly a sacrifice and maybe a future jin. I want to close the loop off and extend the leader up a bit more then have a kind of weepy look to it with the foliage at the top.
It threw out a bunch of side branches since that photo that in retrospect I should of removed to keep the leader growing but in the last 8 months the trunk has doubled and started to grey/blacken up losing that brown colour.

Still like I say not much to see, nothing special anyways.

IMG_5714des.jpg

Thanks for posting a picture appreciate it. Your tree is very young still be interesting in a few year I reckon.

[Keels]

Hi Keels, Here is a photo of my A.Longifolia .Have had for several years ,a collected tree so I think it must have a bit of age. .I root prune every year in summer does not seem to resent it.Has been kind to me and flowers every year. This year I have overpotted it in the hope of putting on a bit more growth. Hang on to the Salinga it looks like you could get a pretty interesting tree out of it. Nice angles to work with and a flower is always a bonus. Cheers John.

Nice tree John. I've never heard of a A.Longifolia but it's pretty cool from what I can see. You have some nice movement in your tree. Hope to replicate some in mine. Thanks for posting a photo.

[MikeK]

Here's a (pretty ordinary) pic of an A. longfolia at the central coast show last year. I believe it's around 40 years old

acacia.longfolia.jpg

I'm growing a few A. sophorae (aka Acacia longifolia subsp. sophorae) from tubestock. Haven't done much root pruning yet, but no issues with back-budding. One in particular was completely stripped by a possum (to a trunk with nothing left, even branches were chewed off ) I almost threw it in the bin thinking it was a goner, but moved to a more 'possum resistant' location and it recovered in about a month or so, with lots of new growth all over the trunk (no reduction in leaf size from the 'defoliation' though)