Acacia Galpinii "Monkey Thorn" progress

[Mr Fever Tree]

Hi All...one more for the book!

pic 1> was taken on the day of ownership "stoked" what a wonderful South African indigenous tree the MONKEY THORN love its flaked bark, leaf structure and..and...and the list goes on.

pic 2> week 2 small amount of wiring done..still deciding on a style so not a single cut was done.

 

[Mr Fever Tree]

okay here's what ive being thinking this one could be!
these are Africa styles so let me know your thoughts on these two!

:the first is what has been called a Pierneef Style

:and second is Flat Top Style "im kinda leaning towards this one folks"

????

 

[Klytus]

You could look at it from a Feline perspective,is it a good candidate for climbing and hanging carcasses from?

The old flat top acacia may be the way to go,imagining heat haze is optional.

 

[Mr Fever Tree]

2nd month...repotted into a training pot "I'm using plastic pots find them to be useful for training and other methods, just heat up my wire and push through the top rim and WA-LA perfect $1 training pot, well for me anyway"
Root growth was good but not bound so removed soil and left the hole root ball...
starting to pull the fork apart now, wanna widen top growth out quiet more. done more Miner wire work...starting to look like something's there

 

[Klytus]

I can almost see the Vulture swooping between the branches.

I found an inspirational image.

http://www.corbisimages.com/Enlargement/AB004563.html

 

[Mr Fever Tree]

You could look at it from a Feline perspective,is it a good candidate for climbing and hanging carcasses from?

The old flat top acacia may be the way to go,imagining heat haze is optional.

LOL.....Thanks Mate for the incuragement.....LOL
think it might just have more... than just a scratching post for your feline.

....LOL

 

[jason biggs]

now you guys r talking-welcome to the world of acacia.i have more or less 50 galpinii in pots around my house all now 9 years old...another great S.A.tree is acacia burkei [black monkey thorn].Just 1 word of warning ,allow for dieback when u trim the branches + dont cut too close to the node....

 

[GerhardG]

the down side(s) of (african) acacia...

Hi

I have a Galpinii that's coming along nicely, about 8cm at the base, also just going for the Pierneef style.
I bought it in Windhoek (Namibia) and the first two years I needed to trim the leaves back to the last two leaflets on a daily basis to prevent rediculously long internodes.
I spent the past 18 months living and working in the far South of Namibia, and there the tree really started looking nice. It was growing well, but the leaves were considerably smaller - I just watered and fed it. No idea what caused this, suspect it was the harsh sunlight.
I tried a new technique this past autum, I broke/cracked a few of the internodes that were too long and simply sealed the break with wood glue, this was to give the branches more movement and it seems to have worked a treat.
Ditto on not cuting too close to the node, I leave about 1cm and trim back 1/2 months later.

I also have a small Acacia Erubescens in training as a informal upright, it has incredible taper and it's a good looking tree, but it has problems.
Bare rooting Acacias seems to be a good way to kill them, I've slip potted this tree twice, but it's struggling and I suspect it seriously needs the growing medium replaced.
I've considered hosing out half the soil, replacing it, apply patience and then do the other half, but I haven't convinced myself about that option......

I also have an Acacia Hebeclada planted from seed, and I suspect this little one will steal the show in a few years, I'm taking it the twin trunk route.

BIG problem with Acacia........

Is getting their photos taken.....

I don't know what you call the movement of their leaves in responce to light levels, but it seems I'm always on my way to work when they are at their best.
I've found days were it starts and stays cloudy is best, but you have to be quick anyway.
Specifically the Galpinii looks great when all the leaflets are louvered for maximum exposure (canopy nice and full), while from 5/6pm onwards most people reckon "it's dying"......

Early on in the bonsai game I almost diverted into Acacia collecting, but the Hebeclada was the only seeds that germinated from about 60 seeds I collected on fishing trips.....

Cheers
Gerhard