I have found pictures of a tree whose shape is ideal for my needs - namely
the acacia tree, such as those illustrated he

http://tinyurl.com/79a3zha

I gather their usual habitat is in hot places such as the Middle East and
Australia. Does anyone know if one would survive and thrive in Southern
England?

Thank you,

Al

On 4 Apr 2012 10:05:38 GMT, "AL_n" wrote:

I have found pictures of a tree whose shape is ideal for my needs - namely
the acacia tree, such as those illustrated he

http://tinyurl.com/79a3zha

I gather their usual habitat is in hot places such as the Middle East and
Australia. Does anyone know if one would survive and thrive in Southern
England?

Thank you,

Al

I would expect Acacia to grow in Southern England as I have one
growing in my garden in the North West. I think it's an Acacia
dealbata but I'm not sure.

Steve

--
Neural Network Software. http://www.npsl1.com
EasyNN-plus. Neural Networks plus. http://www.easynn.com
SwingNN. Forecast with Neural Networks. http://www.swingnn.com
JustNN. Just Neural Networks. http://www.justnn.com

Chris Hogg wrote in
:

I have found pictures of a tree whose shape is ideal for my needs -
namely the acacia tree, such as those illustrated he

http://tinyurl.com/79a3zha

I gather their usual habitat is in hot places such as the Middle East
and Australia. Does anyone know if one would survive and thrive in
Southern England?

Thank you,

Al

As Steve said, Acacia dealbata is the one most commonly grown in the
UK, especially down here in Cornwall, although even here a hard winter
may kill them. However, there are many different types: one of our
local nurseries lists several, see
http://www.burncoose.co.uk/site/cate...a&fBtnSearch=+
Go+%3E+

That's interesting - thanks..


Don't be mislead into thinking that all, or even any of them will grow
like the images in the link you posted. Most of those look African,
and as such are heavily grazed (pruned, if you like), by giraffes and
elephants. Of course, you could always keep an elephant to two in the
back garden. Plenty of manure!

I'll make a trunk call and order one up!

Al

Stephen Wolstenholme wrote in
news
On 4 Apr 2012 10:05:38 GMT, "AL_n" wrote:

I have found pictures of a tree whose shape is ideal for my needs -
namely the acacia tree, such as those illustrated he

http://tinyurl.com/79a3zha

I gather their usual habitat is in hot places such as the Middle East
and Australia. Does anyone know if one would survive and thrive in
Southern England?

Thank you,

Al

I would expect Acacia to grow in Southern England as I have one
growing in my garden in the North West. I think it's an Acacia
dealbata but I'm not sure.

Steve


That's reassuring - thanks. What colour of blossoms does yours produce? I
see there is one variety: dealbata subalpina that grows high up in snowy
mountain regions! Perhaps that's the one you have.

Al

"AL_n" wrote

I have found pictures of a tree whose shape is ideal for my needs - namely
the acacia tree, such as those illustrated he

http://tinyurl.com/79a3zha

I gather their usual habitat is in hot places such as the Middle East and
Australia. Does anyone know if one would survive and thrive in Southern
England?


Quite a few A dealbata in this area, indeed on St Ann's Hill in Chertsey
there is the largest one I've seen in the UK and the last few bad winters
don't seem to have caused much damage.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK

"AL_n" wrote in message
...
Stephen Wolstenholme wrote in
news
On 4 Apr 2012 10:05:38 GMT, "AL_n" wrote:

I have found pictures of a tree whose shape is ideal for my needs -
namely the acacia tree, such as those illustrated he

http://tinyurl.com/79a3zha

I gather their usual habitat is in hot places such as the Middle East
and Australia. Does anyone know if one would survive and thrive in
Southern England?

Thank you,

Al

I would expect Acacia to grow in Southern England as I have one
growing in my garden in the North West. I think it's an Acacia
dealbata but I'm not sure.

Steve


That's reassuring - thanks. What colour of blossoms does yours produce? I
see there is one variety: dealbata subalpina that grows high up in snowy
mountain regions! Perhaps that's the one you have.

Al

The blossom colour is yellow, there are several species hardy enough for
short periods but very few survive a proper cold winter, if you want the
look and shape you could try something like Albizia julibrissin but do buy a
decent size tree as they are not so hardy when small and grow rather slowly.


--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvs
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk

"Bob Hobden" wrote in
:


Quite a few A dealbata in this area, indeed on St Ann's Hill in
Chertsey there is the largest one I've seen in the UK and the last few
bad winters don't seem to have caused much damage.

That's good. Unfortunately, I think I'm out of luck; I've just leaned that
they need neutral to acidic soil. Mine is very alkaline and poorly drained.
Back to the drawing board! :-7


Al

On Wed, 4 Apr 2012 13:37:09 +0100, "Charlie Pridham"
wrote:


"AL_n" wrote in message
...
Stephen Wolstenholme wrote in
news
On 4 Apr 2012 10:05:38 GMT, "AL_n" wrote:

I have found pictures of a tree whose shape is ideal for my needs -
namely the acacia tree, such as those illustrated he

http://tinyurl.com/79a3zha

I gather their usual habitat is in hot places such as the Middle East
and Australia. Does anyone know if one would survive and thrive in
Southern England?

Thank you,

Al

I would expect Acacia to grow in Southern England as I have one
growing in my garden in the North West. I think it's an Acacia
dealbata but I'm not sure.

Steve


That's reassuring - thanks. What colour of blossoms does yours produce? I
see there is one variety: dealbata subalpina that grows high up in snowy
mountain regions! Perhaps that's the one you have.

Al

The blossom colour is yellow, there are several species hardy enough for
short periods but very few survive a proper cold winter, if you want the
look and shape you could try something like Albizia julibrissin but do buy a
decent size tree as they are not so hardy when small and grow rather slowly.

Mine has survived through the last ten or so winters with no problems.
Perhaps you get colder winters in Cornwall. It was only about two foot
high when it was planted and grew fairly slowly for a few years. It
then shot up to about ten foot. It has been kept to that height.

Steve

--
Neural Network Software. http://www.npsl1.com
EasyNN-plus. Neural Networks plus. http://www.easynn.com
SwingNN. Forecast with Neural Networks. http://www.swingnn.com
JustNN. Just Neural Networks. http://www.justnn.com

On Apr 4, 11:05*am, "AL_n" wrote:
I have found pictures of a tree whose shape is ideal for my needs - namely
the acacia tree, such as those illustrated he

http://tinyurl.com/79a3zha

I gather their usual habitat is in hot places such as the Middle East and
Australia. *Does anyone know if one would survive and thrive in Southern
England?

Thank you,

Al

The acacia that you saw would be great if the rainfall keeps away from
you, anfd you can cope with thawns up to 6 inches in length,
Umbrella Thorn Acacia
The Umbrella Thorn Acacia grows in Africa. There are over 700 species
of the Acacia in Africa. Umbrella Thorn Acacia is one of the most
recognizable trees of the African savanna. It grows in sand dunes and
rocky grounds of Africa's grasslands. Acacias grow in areas with
annual rainfall as low as 4 cm. This tree can survive in 50°C
temperatures during the day, and freezing temperatures at nights. The
savanna that the Acacias live in is hot and dry in the respective
summer of the Southern Hemisphare although at night the temperature
can go below -18°C. During the winter months the savanna gets a lot of
rain. The Umbrella Thorn grows up to 20 metres high and has a
spreading, flat-tapped crown that gives it its name.

Hi Al. I grow several varieties commercially down here in Cornwall and from experience, the hardiest in order are, A dealbata, A pravissima, A longifolia but I hope you realise just how fast they grow ??? A dealbata can easily grow 15ft in 3 yrs, as can longifolia ! One of the nicest is Acacia Baileyana (the Cootamunda Wattle) it has beautiful steely blue foliage, the most deliciously scented 'fluffy' yellow flowers (from Christmas onwards) and it can be kept relatively small. Regarding soil, the best variety for alkaline soil is A rhetinoides and whilst quick growing, it flowers several times during the year and also as a young tree (A. dealbata will take several years to flower) but its not the hardiest ! Prior to these recent cold winters, all the above have thrived down here but it depends on if this colder trend is now the 'norm' Even this year, whilst we only had one really cold spell, it was quite mild leading upto it and it took the newest growth out of my Acacias in the garden.
Depending where you are ? why not try growing one in a large tub that can be moved come winter, or be prepared to wrap the lower trunk/branches, at least this way, it will come again from the base !
regards, Lannerman.

lannerman wrote in
:


AL_n;954985 Wrote:
I have found pictures of a tree whose shape is ideal for my needs -
namely
the acacia tree, such as those illustrated he

'acacia tree - Google Search' (http://tinyurl.com/79a3zha)

I gather their usual habitat is in hot places such as the Middle East
and
Australia. Does anyone know if one would survive and thrive in Southern

England?

Thank you,

Al

Hi Al. I grow several varieties commercially down here in Cornwall and
from experience, the hardiest in order are, A dealbata, A pravissima, A
longifolia but I hope you realise just how fast they grow ??? A dealbata
can easily grow 15ft in 3 yrs, as can longifolia ! One of the nicest is
Acacia Baileyana (the Cootamunda Wattle) it has beautiful steely blue
foliage, the most deliciously scented 'fluffy' yellow flowers (from
Christmas onwards) and it can be kept relatively small. Regarding soil,
the best variety for alkaline soil is A rhetinoides and whilst quick
growing, it flowers several times during the year and also as a young
tree (A. dealbata will take several years to flower) but its not the
hardiest ! Prior to these recent cold winters, all the above have
thrived down here but it depends on if this colder trend is now the
'norm' Even this year, whilst we only had one really cold spell, it was
quite mild leading upto it and it took the newest growth out of my
Acacias in the garden.
Depending where you are ? why not try growing one in a large tub that
can be moved come winter, or be prepared to wrap the lower
trunk/branches, at least this way, it will come again from the base !
regards, Lannerman.

Hi Lannerman,
It's wonderful to read your expert knowledge on these trees. I wasn't aware
they were so fast-growing, but that makes them even more appealing. What a
shame that the alkaline-tolerant one is not so hardy. I'm in South Dorset,
almost on the beach. Most of the wind comes from the SouthWest and gets
warmed by the gulf stream for most of the Winter. Temperatures never drop
much below 0c. -2 perhaps, occasionally.

Al

On 04/04/2012 13:37, Charlie Pridham wrote:


The blossom colour is yellow, there are several species hardy enough for
short periods but very few survive a proper cold winter, if you want the
look and shape you could try something like Albizia julibrissin but do buy a
decent size tree as they are not so hardy when small and grow rather slowly.

If you can, try to buy A.julibrissin in flower. I bought a small var
rosea, and after waiting 10 years it finally flowered as the ordinary A.
julibrissin!

--

Jeff

Hi again, I'm sorry but i never looked at the link you posted and went straight into a reply. Now having looked (having read Dave Hill's reply) the varieties that I mentioned bear no resemblance to the african thorn acacia regarding the shape. Thats the bad news but the good news is that if your as mild as you say, then you could grow any of the varieties that I mentioned as even A. Baileyana will tolerate the odd night down to -5 o C. I'd go for the A. rhetinoides (the most lime tolerant) its quick growing, scented and unlike the others you get flushes of flower (very scented) during smmer and it flowers when young. It also, like several of the 'wattles' has two types of foliage, the young growth is similar to dealbata (small bipinnate leaves) which change to long strap-like linear shaped leaves (not unlike willow leaves but larger). Prune after the first spring flush and it will soon make a large bushy tree. Most Acacias do well near the sea especially on the south coast, so things are looking good for you ! One final point, dont be tempted to buy one thats too big and tease the roots out if they are seen to be going around the base of the container. Ideally plant one thats about 4ft- 5ft tall, give it only enough support to establish it, then it will be forced to make its own support root system (too big a stake will mean that they rely too much on it)
Hope this helps, Lannerman.

That's spelled A. retinodes. I tried one (was given it) in S Bucks but the frost killed it even before those two really nasty winters. It just didn't get going in the growing season either, during the 3 years I had it, so I think you need a nice warm spot for it.

In article , Stephen
Wolstenholme writes
I would expect Acacia to grow in Southern England as I have one
growing in my garden in the North West. I think it's an Acacia
dealbata but I'm not sure.

Steve


I know at least two that were growing around here, (Amersham, Bucks,)
grew quite large and sort of held on during the last two bad winters but
now look like they have turned their toes up this spring.
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk