The long lived Acacia pendula

We all know that wattles get a bad rap for growing quickly, becoming sparse and also attacked by borers, many people won’t plant Acacias purely based on their shorter lifespan, not me I plant them whenever possible and to be honest 8-10 years feels like a pretty long time to me right now 😉
However there are a small hand full of Acacia species that are long lived and thankfully the beautiful Acacia pendula is one of them.

The specimen in these images is growing in the Cranbourne Botanic Gardens and has been allowed to get to its full height of a small to medium tree, growing between 6 and 10 metres. It makes a fantastic feature tree and is also good for screening due to its dense weeping habit, it can easily be pruned and kept as a large shrub.

Acacia pendula grows naturally in western NSW and QLD ensuring it is very drought and frost tolerant, I have been growing one in Wollongong from tubestock with great success, showing it doesn’t seem to mind a heavier clay soil or humidity.

At the time of taking these photos it was a very hot summers day with a strong breeze, the leaves swishing all over the place, making it hard to photograph. This is one of the aspects I love about soft weeping foliaged plants, they move so easily in the breeze giving the impression of the environment being cooler than it actually is.
So what is not to love about this Wattle? it full-fills many of my favourite characteristics in a native plant!

Posted

30/01/2019

Bird attracting, Drought hardy, Feature shrub, Frost tolerant, Screening plants, Small tree, Winter flowering

Kath Gadd

Tags:

Acacia pendula, clay soils, Cranbourne Botanic Gardens, foliage contrast, grey green leaves, silver foliage, weeping habit, wind tolerant, yellow flowers

Comments

15 responses to “The long lived Acacia pendula”

Carmen

26/03/2019

Hi there
I’m planning a native home garden here in Newcastle and just wanted to say how much I Iove your posts – so inspiring and informative; thanks so much!

Reply
Erick Ng

30/04/2019

Hi Kath, I saw a slender and young Acacia pendula at the Maranoa Native Garden here in Victoria and I was instantly attracted to the swaying glaucous leaves. Love your posts. Thanks for sharing all your wonderful plant experience.

Reply
1. Kath Gadd
  
  06/05/2019
  
  Hi Erick,
  
  Thanks for the feedback,
  
  Happy gardening!
  
  Best Wishes,
  
  Kath
  
  Reply
Carla FitzSimons

29/07/2019

Hi Kath,
Your posts are such a great resource for the shady, clay garden!
How do you think the acacia pendula would go in the shade? Thanks.
Carla

Reply
1. Kath Gadd
  
  29/07/2019
  
  Hi Carla,
  
  I have grown one in part shade, it seemed pretty happy, it probably got 3 or 4 hours of sun a day.
  
  I have a shady clay garden hence all the plants I trail in my garden make it on my blog 😉
  
  Best,
  
  Kath
  
  Reply
Carla FitzSimons

03/08/2019

Thanks Kath, I might give the cognata a go instead. Definitely not 4 hours sun in my intended spot.

Reply
Stephen

21/09/2019

Hello I live in Northern Ireland and THINK I have one of these trees. Its a big tree and its trunk is at least 1.5 to 2 meters in Diameter. How can I identify it

Reply
1. Kath Gadd
  
  21/10/2019
  
  Hi Stephen,
  
  You can send me some photos if you like and I can try to ID it for you?
  
  Best,
  
  Kath
  
  Reply
Kim Anwyl

28/05/2020

Hi Stephen,

Bendigo has a few Acacia pendula growing as street trees in heavy sedimentary clay soil. They cop all the abuse of a street tree including further compaction of the soil from cars parking on the root zone. My friend has them growing in his property with a recorded pH level of 8.5. They are an impressive tough tree!

I am trying to find out their potential lifespan as I believe it is as impressive as the tree. Have you found any records of long lived species?

Regards, Kim

Reply
Valerie J Toulec

01/06/2021

My acacia pendula appears to be stressed..the beaches are increasingly bare and the leaves have a rusty color on them. What can I do to restore it to health?

Reply
1. Kath Gadd
  
  09/06/2021
  
  Hi Valerie,
  
  It sounds like they have a fungal disease, but its a bit hard to tell without seeing photos. You can treat fungal diseases with a fungicide and it is usually quick acting.
  
  Best Wishes,
  
  Kath
  
  Reply
Kendall

19/03/2022

What’s the growth rate of your tree from a tube to the photo above? Beautiful

Reply
1. Kath Gadd
  
  30/03/2022
  
  Hi Kendell,
  
  Acacia pendula are very slow growing, unlike other Acacias. At a guess I would say they grow more at the speed of Banksias.
  
  All the best,
  Kath
  
  Reply
Craig Kirkpatrick

22/01/2024

Hi, I too am planting a Pendula in Newie, I see your post was a few years ago, is it growing well? What height is it now too, please?

Thank you,
CSK

Reply
1. Kath Gadd
  
  24/01/2024
  
  Hi Craig,
  It is a very slow growing plant, let us know how you get on with yours.
  Many thanks
  
  Reply