Acacia Advice, Please?

Dorian Fourie said:
South Africa and Australia both had the genus Acacia tree but they were actually very different types of trees. The African Acacias were the trees like the black monkey thorn and camel thorn etc and are like the trees that you see in almost every Africa safari video ever shown looking like an umbrella on the savanna

Then the Australians had the Acacia like yours B-Nut that looks totally different

Now because Africa is actually more of a going backward continent (instead of going forward) and Australia the opposite (going forward and not backward) the botany experts of Australia laid claim to the Acacia genus and secured the rights to keep the Acacia genus for their varieties of trees with no fight from the clueless Africans. Africa had to reclassify all their Acacia into the genus Senegalia and vachellia.

Believe me that this was not well received in Africa.
http://www.krugerpark.co.za/krugerpark-times-3-1-acacias-21849.html
Click to expand...

I posted this elsewhere.

http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/blogs/wild-journey/2016/03/the-wattle-war

Why can't we all just get along. Frankly as long as people aren't calling them mimosa like they do in Europe I'm happy.
 
Angela said:
Hi there!
So I'm not sure if there's a forum for this, so sorry if I'm messing this up ...
This is my first ever bonsai. My parents got it for me. It's an Acacia, though I'm not sure what type -- it has thorns and the bark of the trunk has an almost feathery texture - it's soft and if you wanted (though I would do no such thing!) you could easily peel it. The trunk is also a white / very pale yellow colour (yellow-y when wet).
It's a beautiful specimen, in my opinion.
It seems to be healthy - from what (very) little I know. The leaves are green, no bugs in sight. I rocked (gently) the trunk a little to see if it would move - although it shifted slightly, it was only a little. Is this because it has a very big pot / was it recently potted / are the roots still growing? Is this very slight rocking indicative of a root problem? Please advise?:eek::eek:
My questions are basically all about caring for my little Bonsai:
Right now, it's nighttime. The soil of the bonsai is damp. I don't know if this is a good thing?
When / what time do I water? Currently it's summertime. How much water? And what is this "flushing" of water I hear of? Do I need chemicals or fertilisers to maintain a chemical balance in the soil? If so, what type? When would I use such fertilisers, etc.? How much sun does my Acacia need?
Is it alright if I leave my Bonsai on the patio? There is a plastic roof above it (see-through). If it rains, I will immediately bring my Bonsai in anyway, just in case.
The trunk of the Acacia, at the base, has a veeeery small amount of moss. The moss is --- I think, mind you --- growing on the top soil, and not directly from the tree's roots / trunk. Is moss good or bad --- forget aesthetics, I mean is it healthy for the tree? What about moss proximity to the tree? Does moss "eat" nutrients, depriving my tree of anything?:confused:
The soil of my Bonsai is a dark brown, and covered in small stones. I felt the draining bit at the bottom of the pot and there's some netting. The soil there is wet ... Again, bad or good?:confused:
Please help me. I really want to properly care for my Acacia! What is wrong, if anything IS wrong, and how do I fix it? Any final tips and / thoughts?

Thank you for reading and for all your help. :):p
Click to expand...
hello,I am also a new and still learning. I also have a Acacia and learning how to take care of it. Maybe the following will help.
Acacia belongs to the Leguminosae family which also includes the Powder Puff, Brazilian Rain Tree and Tamarind among others. There are over 1000 species of Acacia trees and shrubs found mostly in sub-tropical and tropical regions, most commonly Australia and Africa. About 75% are Australian species, but those considered the most beautiful are from Africa. The Australian species do not do as well in high humidity climates. When seen in nature at maturity, the Acacia has few if any lower branches and a spreading crown.

Here are a few varieties suitable for bonsai:

Acacia farnesiana Sweet Acacia. A thorny plant with delicate, bipinnate compound leaves, colorful yellow flowers and brown seed pods.

Acacia choriophylla Thornless Acacia. This tree has long, thick, pinnate, dark green leaflets. Native to the Florida Keys, Bahamas and Cuba. Resembles the tamarind.

Acacia pennatula Feather Acacia. Tree has bipinnate leaves with beautiful red new growth. Leaves reduce very easily.

Acacia cornigera Bullhorn Acacia. This tree is distinctive because of the large, impressive thorns. The tree has a symbiotic relationship with ants. The trees provide nectar to the ants, and the ants protect the tree from invasive plants and pest. The ants reside in the thorns which become hallow with age. Native to South Africa, so are the ants.

PRUNING... Prune back rather hard after blooming, blooms in spring. The leaves are compound, so only cut at a joint, not leaflet. Both the roots and top can be heavily pruned.

TRAINING... Bark is thin and delicate, can scar very easily. Heavier branches you might want to wrap with raffia or florist tape to minimize scarring. Generally trained with an open crown, somewhat flat topped. Think Africa.

WATERING... Fairly drought tolerant, careful not to over water. Allow to dry down between waterings.

LIGHT... Prefers full sun but can tolerate lower light conditions.

INSECT/DISEASE... Haven’t really had a problem with any insects or disease.

REPOT... Summer, minimum night temperature-lower to mid 60s. Rather quick growers, but don’t mind being a little root bound. Young trees every 1-2 years. Older 2-3 or more years.

FERTILIZE... Low nitrogen fertilizer through blooming season. Then a balanced fertilizer through growing season.

SEASONAL... Protect below 40 degrees.

I found this info. @ d&l nursey. you can also call or email them, they are very helpful.
 
my nellie said:
@fredman & @Dorian Fourie & @Starfox & @YukiShiro Do you have any knowledge of Acacia farnesiana losing branches for no obvious reason?
I have a small tree which grows healthy but I lost two branches. They died (dried back) with no reason (to my knowledge).
Thank you in advance!
Click to expand...

Look up Acacia smalii for info as well. They are very similar if not the same tree. Some say 'smallii' is more cold resistant than 'farnesiana' but who knows. You might find something on the other one.
 
Not being immediately familiar with this exact species I found a couple of things online that mention dieback.

https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/74167/IPA-Mimosa-Bush-PP35.pdf

http://lee.ifas.ufl.edu/Hort/GardenPubsAZ/Sweet_Acacia_Vachellia_farnesiana.pdf

One relates to bugs and the other basically says it happens from time to time, fast growing trees can do that but then again so can stress.
If the tree is still healthy then I guess it would be hard to pin the exact reason down.
 
my nellie said:
@fredman & @Dorian Fourie & @Starfox & @YukiShiro Do you have any knowledge of Acacia farnesiana losing branches for no obvious reason?
I have a small tree which grows healthy but I lost two branches. They died (dried back) with no reason (to my knowledge).
Thank you in advance!
Click to expand...
Hi @my nellie
Some species of acacia are prone to serious die back for no other reason except that it is part of their nature and unfortunately Vachellia farnesiana (Old Acacia farnesiana) falls in that category. If you look at many of the acacia trees that occur naturally in nature, you will see they always have plenty of dead branches hanging from them and that is because the tree just suffers from die back. It is also one of the reasons why it is not a common bonsai species to work with.
07fc2e85b9396a8503f687f03d2c081a.jpg
I was growing a Vachellia karroo (Old Acacia Karoo) also a variety of sweet thorn like the farnesiana as a literati. In the space of 1 month I lost the whole upper part of the tree. I still have it growing in my garden but I decided to not invest much time and effort into the tree anymore because it all goes to waste.

14706881_638127296368374_6047569147851848973_o.jpg

You can continue to persevere with the tree but my suggestion would be to find a more suitable Acacia species to work with. Either way, good luck

If you are interested, you can see the whole process of my acacia and how it just went backwards.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/KirakuBonsai/photos/?tab=album&album_id=388779011303205
 
I've been growing acacia ( well trying for 6rs ) burkei ( black monkey thorn )
Fantastic trees I love the papery bark , look so much older than they are , I'm a beginner so can't offer to much advice except they don't like wet roots

Lovely trees
 
Angela said:
what type of African Acacia it is.
Click to expand...

Thorny one:p!

Great looking starter tree:D. Seems a reverse taper in trunk so if possible can "front" be found that hides this? Welcome to forum.
 
Not at all, it's almost ready for its final potting were it will stay for time to come. It's in training now, so planted skew, but will go straight up in the cement pot its standing in when I repot it. Will post side profile of tree so you get a better idea.
 
Mr.Q said:
Not at all, it's almost ready for its final potting were it will stay for time to come. It's in training now, so planted skew, but will go straight up in the cement pot its standing in when I repot it. Will post side profile of tree so you get a better idea.
Click to expand...
Great

Would like to see the pictures when done
 
Has been big time in traction for the last 5 years and I have been playing with gravity a bit to shape the final vision for the tree. Once repotted in the cement pot it is standing in I will also continue to do some more Nebari on it.
 
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