Low Shrubbery: Acacia howittii ‘Honey Bun’

I have had my eye on this little dwarf form of Acacia for a few years now, it isn’t as common as some of the Acacia cognata dwarfs, which is one of the reasons it appeals to me. This is Acacia howittii ‘Honey Bun’ and it is an incredibly pretty and useful low shrub, suitable for low hedging and feature borders in the native garden.

Acacia howittii ‘Honey Bun’ enjoys a part shade position in an area with low humidity, it is frost tolerant and quick growing.

It is a lovely mounding shrub with lime green interesting foliage hanging all the way to the ground, it grows to about 1.2m by 1.2m and looks great planted amongst weeping grasses.

I have found in some positions in the garden this plant has thrived where other dwarf Acacias have not, it seems to require little moisture and dislikes over-head watering. However beware when growing on the NSW east coast as sometimes our summers can be too much a way around this is to plant in autumn and get it established before those summer rains.

Posted

13/03/2014

Bird attracting, Drought hardy, Feature shrub, Frost tolerant, Hedge, Shade tolerant, Small garden

Kath Gadd

Tags:

Acacia howittii ‘Honey Bun’, clay soils, fragrant, spring flowering, understory planting, weeping habit, yellow flowers

Comments

10 responses to “Low Shrubbery: Acacia howittii ‘Honey Bun’”

bill Watts

13/04/2015

Re A.howittii. Could you please provide me with info. On flowering habit of this variant – flowering period, color, etc . I am looking for a winter flowering, low growth variant for use in the small gardens of a retirement village. Thank you,
Bill Watts

Reply
1. Kath Gadd
  
  26/04/2015
  
  Hi Bill,
  
  I have found that Acacia ‘Honey Bun’ is not a particularly prolific flowerer, however when it does they are pale, yellow, highly perfumed and occur in spring. This is a small shrub and reaches about 1 metre high, there is also a ground cover form called ‘Green Wave’.
  
  Best,
  
  Kath
  
  Reply
colleen lynn

07/02/2017

would acacia honey bun

grow in full sun in Forrestfield west australia. thanks

Reply
1. Kath Gadd
  
  07/02/2017
  
  Hi Colleen,
  
  I have seen Acacia howittii ‘Honey Bun’ growing very successfully in Maida Vale at Zanthorrea Nursery. If Forrestville is anything like Maida Vale I would say you shouldn’t have any problems. Sometimes they do prefer so shade though so if you can find a position that is a little protected from all day sun they would probably perform better.
  Best Wishes,
  
  Kath
  
  Reply
Jenny Johnson

13/10/2019

I have some small Acacia Howittii that are very yellow looking and seem to be dormant. What should I do to improve their condition? I live in Toowoomba.

Reply
1. Kath Gadd
  
  21/10/2019
  
  Hi Jenny,
  
  Whereabouts is your garden located?
  
  thanks,
  
  Kath
  
  Reply
Mike

15/02/2020

When’s the best time to prune acacia howitti honey bun

Reply
Fiona

21/02/2021

Hi Kath
I planted 8 honey buns in different areas of my garden and 5 are thriving and the rest not. Some seem to have little dots on their stems that may be more profuse on the unhappy plants but it’s hard to tell. Any ideas?
I am also afraid to prune them as I read to be careful not to destroy their weeping habit.
Thanks for you help
Cheers Fiona

Reply
1. Kath Gadd
  
  25/02/2021
  
  Hi Fiona,
  
  They might have scale but I would need photos to clarify. Could you email some photos to me at kath@malleedesign.com.au?
  
  All the best,
  Kath
  
  Reply
Christine

11/06/2023

I have several Honey Buns in my house garden in the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia. They get no summer water beyond what nature provides. I’ve never seen even a single flower, but its reliably green foliage looks great with lomandra and acacia Fettuccini.
My only concern is that at 7 years they’re getting HUGE –over a meter tall and 2-3 meters wide

Reply