Friday, June 5, 2009

Queensland Silver Wattle

Acacia podalyriifolia
Family: MIMOSACEAE
Every year, just as winter’s cold fingers start to remind us that there’ll be a few miserable months ahead, this pretty wattle always burst into glorious flower to cheer us up.
It’s a pity that the prettiest wattles are short-lived. This one is past its best at about six years old, and I prefer to remove them from the garden when they’re younger than that. I can enjoy them at their prettiest age - the first two or three flowerings - but prefer to avoid the chore of removing full-grown straggly ones.
Every year, just a few seedlings come up in my garden. They are not so numerous as to be a nuisance, but there are enough of them for me to choose some well-placed ones which I leave to grow.
The outstanding foliage is suitable for floral arrangements, looking lovely with white roses in a wedding bouquet.
These plants do like well-drained soil, where they’ll outlive the toughest droughts, and some hard frosts.

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