Silver Wattle (Acacia dealbata)
Silver Wattle, originating in Australia, is particularly widespread in the Mediterranean countries as well as in the regions characterized by mild winters.
Its popularity owes to its light and attractive foliage, as well as to its rich, impressive and exceptionally fragrant flowering, which in the hot climates may appear from the beginning of February – a period in which few plants blossom.
The following article outlines the main features of this tree, which is also used as ornamental and for the production of very good quality timber.
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Silver Wattle
Silver Wattle (Acacia dealbata)
Silver Wattle (Acacia dealbata) - Brief Description
Scientific name
Acacia dealbata Link. (syn. Acacia decurrens dealbata)
Common name
Mimosa
General characteristics
Type of foliage: Evergreen
Form: Tree with single or more trunks, round and spreading, with irregular canopy symmetry
Texture: Fine
Height: 8-15 m (26-50 ft)
Diameter: 3-5 m (10-16 ft)
Growth rate: Fast
Flowering period: March-April
Fruiting period: Spring-Summer
Shape and colours
Bark: Light greyish-brown
Leaves shape: Linear, bipinnately compound
Foliage colour: Blue-green
Foliage colour in autumn: Green
Flowers shape: Panicle, racemose inflorescences, flowerheads of 13–42 individual flowers
Flowers colour: Yellow
Fruit: Legume, brown color
Plantation
Soil type: Well-drained sandy to loamy soils, lime-free, acidic to neutral
Exposure: Sun
Soil pH: 5.5-7
Watering: Medium
Hardiness: – 7 °C (20 °F – USDA Hardiness zone 9a)
Uses
Specimen, alignment, erosion control
Silver Wattle (Acacia dealbata)
Silver Wattle (Acacia dealbata) - General Notes
- Silver Wattle is usually offered grafted on Acacia retinoides‘s root stock.
- Adult trees can withstand low temperatures up to -10 ° C, but in frost conditions they can be damaged over-ground part, but if they are cut resprouts from the base. Also, if enough snow is accumulated, their branches do not withstand the weight and break.
- Silver Wattle if planted in areas with mild winter may bloom from the beginning of February. Flowering is abundant, and flowers are extremely fragrant and edible.
- It is a tree with great resistance to drought, but it can survive in places where water retention. In Africa, it grows along watercourses.
- The tree is used in addition to ornamental and for the production of timber, while planting it on bare slopes protects the soil from erosion. Also, in the food industry, the gum which is naturally extracted from the tree as a substitute for Gum Arabic.
- As with most Fabaceae in the roots of the tree, several bacterias (eg Rhizobium leguminosarum) coexist in a symbiotic relationship, utilizing atmospheric nitrogen by enriching the soil with nitrogen compounds, useful for both Silver Wattle and other plants which are close to it.
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THE WHITE STRIPES – ‘Blue Orchid’
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