...and Tassie Troy's tree comes down!

[MattyB]

I think this is only 4 years from seed, and this bad boy went outta control! When did you give me those seeds Troy? Anyway, Acacia dealbata was a great canopy tree for a while but then I started noticing that it was incredibly root aggressive. I encountered several large Acacia roots very far away from the trunk and even worse they started forming mats that were choking out the other plants. I had a tile on the dirt that I had a pot set on and when I removed the tile the Acacia roots underneath were just amazing. Scary amazing. So, I decided that this tree needs to be planted out in the open, in the drier areas, and not in my jungly area next to water loving plants. Thanks for the seeds Troy, but it was my mistake to plant it in the wrong spot. Can you send me some new seeds? Here's the pics of it coming down.

[MattyB]

Here's a short video of a nice cut. The bark was very thin and slippery. The climber "gaffed out", or slipped several times, the only thing saving him from falling was his two tie-off points and fall protection harness.

[paulgila]

you said you were gonna dig it up & bring it over.

[Dr. George]

you said you were gonna dig it up & bring it over.

Ya... but he didn't say in how many pieces - gmp

[Bennz]

Hey Matty, did you actually quantify any competition from this tree, or just assume there was? Dealbata is a primary coloniser of sites destined to become rainforest in appropriate conditions, so it seems unlikely to me it was really doing too much damage. Certainly far less aggressive for soil moisture and nutrients than some Aussie natives like Eucs. Nitrogen fixation in this species can be impressive too, figures up to 350kgN/ha have been recorded, pretty serious nutrient supply, and in correct association with C so good easy release rates with little damage potential. I hope you used the tree as mulch for your palms.

I've planted about 20,00 of these over the last 3 years, they produce beautiful timber at maturity. I marvel it is not grown more, the timber is koa-qualtiy with much faster production time.

[LJG]

Bummer Matt. Hope you had a another to plant.

[fastfeat]

Good riddance! Pretty when they bloom (in someone else's yard), but dense thickets of seedlings AND suckers where well-adapted. Disliked more in NorCal than SoCal generally.

Rated as Moderate Risk by Cal-IPC: http://www.cal-ipc.org/paf/site/paf/467

[Tassie_Troy1971]

Will send you some more seed soon

[MattyB]

Cool, Thanks. I was hoping I'd get seed off of this one but I was too afraid to wait another few years

[Jonathan]

Hey Matty, did you actually quantify any competition from this tree, or just assume there was? Dealbata is a primary coloniser of sites destined to become rainforest in appropriate conditions, so it seems unlikely to me it was really doing too much damage. Certainly far less aggressive for soil moisture and nutrients than some Aussie natives like Eucs. Nitrogen fixation in this species can be impressive too, figures up to 350kgN/ha have been recorded, pretty serious nutrient supply, and in correct association with C so good easy release rates with little damage potential. I hope you used the tree as mulch for your palms.

I've planted about 20,00 of these over the last 3 years, they produce beautiful timber at maturity. I marvel it is not grown more, the timber is koa-qualtiy with much faster production time.

Not in a dry climate Ben!

Nothing grows under dry land silver wattles except the toughest succulents.

They form an absolutely impenetrable root mat that suckers like a son of a bitch and absorbs all available moisture and nutrients.

I think Troy got those seeds from my wattle forest, which is a single clonal plant covering about two acres. If you disturb it it goes crazy.

Wet forest A. dealbata is a totally different animal and grows as you describe above.

A word of warning to anyone considering A. dealbata in a small garden (ie less than 5 acres) - get seeds from a known wet forest provenance, or prepare for invasion!!!

Cheers,

Jonathan