Acacia Senegal

[Meangreen94z 1,660]

Anyone growing Acacia Senegal or know of it’s approximate hardiness?

Edited May 31, 2020 by Meangreen94z

[Silas_Sancona 7,795]

1 hour ago, Meangreen94z said:

Anyone growing Acacia Senegal or know of it’s approximate hardiness?

Not quite certain on " overall " cold tolerance, but it is being grown in UofA's Campus arboretum down in Tucson, along with several other "African Savanna" Acacia sp...  Some sources say 9b is the minimum, but have heard it can survive 9a -once it has gained mature wood- also.. 

A side note, ** Was re-classed into the Genus Senegalia ( Senegalia senegal ) awhile back when the entire Acacia group was shifted into several sub-groups**. 

[Meangreen94z 1,660]

Thanks. I saw the university had a listing, but no specified hardiness.. I guess I can assume it will survive into the dry mid teens.

[Silas_Sancona 7,795]

3 minutes ago, Meangreen94z said:

Thanks. I saw the university had a listing, but no specified hardiness.. I guess I can assume it will survive into the dry mid teens.

I'd say maybe no lower than 18F max, but..  I'd like to see where their specimen is sited, just to see what ( if any ) micro climate influence might be having on it.. and find out how long it has been there.  I'll have to check around and see if there are any articles discussing how it performed, if trialed in any of the plots ( Tucson and Yuma ) run by a program associated w/ the University.  

[Hillizard 1,450]

As an FYI, here is a discussion of the Acacia species (in 38 taxa) grown at the San Diego Zoo habitats: https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/plants/acacia

[Meangreen94z 1,660]

Thanks, that’s highly useful 

[necturus 561]

I've been fortunate to visit southern Africa a couple times now. I am pretty sure I saw these in Hwange National Park (Zimbabwe) and maybe in Sabi Sands (South Africa). Hwange is interesting because the elevation is high enough that they occasionally see frost. As we traveled from Victoria Falls to Hwange there were several transitions in the flora, most notably that baobabs and some other tropicals became frequent for a stretch and then completely disappeared in the vicinity of the park. I also seldom saw any aloes, even though they were quite common elsewhere. We of course grow a few of Zimbabwean plants in the states, so some clearly have some cold hardiness. I bet some of the southern African acacias could make it in parts of the coastal south.

I will never forget the great acacias in Kirstenbosch underplanted with tree aloes, probably Aloidendron barberae. It's a stunning sight, one that a California garden should try to replicate.

I'll try to dig up some pictures later.