Acacia
In the dreary grey of a rainy or overcast winter’s day you may see an occasional burst of brilliant yellow in some gardens. Go to the Royal National Park and you will see masses of wattle trees alongside the roadways and bushwalks through July to September. There are 960 species of wattle in Australia and up to a third flower in winter, the rest flower throughout the year. This means that somewhere in Australia, no matter what time of year, a wattle is flowering.
Acacia pycnantha, or the Golden Wattle, is a tree of up to about 6m (16'). True leaves are absent as it has phyllodes, which are modified flattened leaf stalks lacking leaf blades. The leathery phyllodes are 6 to 20 cm long, broadly lance or sickle-shaped and bright green in colour. The plant flowers in Spring, (roughly July-October, depending on your climate). The flowers are scented and attract insects and birds. The wonderful golden flower spikes in late winter and early spring are widely available throughout Australia. Acacia longifolia, or the Sydney Golden Wattle, is more widely available around Sydney and the Illawarra. As the name suggests, the leaves are long, up to 20cm.
Image: Parliament of Australia, Department of the Parliamentary Library |
The Golden Wattle, Acacia pycnantha, is Australia's floral emblem and is included in the Commonwealth of Australia Coat of Arms. Acacia longifolia is extremely drought, salt and wind tolerant. It will grow in most soil types and the branches can be used in large floral displays. The flowers are profuse and do have a sweet scent that will pervade the garden. As this is a fast-growing shrubby tree it is ideal as a screen. It is found occurring naturally in coastal and mountain areas of NSW and Queensland. It can adapt to a wide variety of conditions and is frost tolerant. It will grow in full sun, part shade or in that difficult area in the yard where nothing seems to grow. If you want to see how hardy this is, have a look at the abundance of Acacias growing along the side of the F6 freeway down to Wollongong. These Acacias have grown since the last severe bush fires. |
Wattles attract birds and bees for pollination and have a lot of pollen. The wattle will use any beetle, wasp or bee which lands on them to do the job of spreading their genes. This plant attracts bees, not by producing nectar, but the pollen itself, which is a rich source of protein for the bee. Mites and thrips feed on the flowers, then beetles and wasps prey on those insects. Birds are then attracted to eat the beetles and in turn become pollinators.
Plant wattles to help enrich the soil (they bind nitrogen into the soil) and as quick growing plants to prevent soil erosion.