ACACIA 



ACACIA 



179 



from timber of .4 . Seyal, which yields the Shittim wood 

 of the Bible. Also on account of its incorruptible wood, 

 this species for ages was used by the Egyptians to make 

 coffins for the burial of their kings. 



Acacias out-of-doors will not endure much frost. 

 They seem to thrive very well in localities in which the 

 winter temperature is as low as 20 F., or even 18, 

 and it is to be hoped that by careful selection strains 

 may be secured that 

 will withstand an 

 even lower tempera- 

 ture. Some species 

 are alkali-resistant 

 as A. cyclops, A. 

 retinodes and per- 

 haps others. After 



the trees are once well established they do 

 not ordinarily require further irrigation since 

 they have a faculty of seeking water. How- 

 ever, if they are given plenty of water and 

 good soil their growth is very rapid. Weevils 

 sometimes ruin acacia seeds by laying their 

 eggs in the flower-buda and appearing later 

 in the pod. Thecottony cushion scale and the 

 black scale are also found to a limited extent, 

 but so far have not proved troublesome. 



Propagation is by seeds sown either under glass or 

 out in the open ground, or by cuttings from half-ripened 

 wood, taken with a heel. Seeds may be prepared for 

 planting in two ways: First, place them in ashes among 

 the dying embers of a fire and allow them to remain 

 until cool. These do not require immediate sowing, but if 

 they are sown they will not perish if rain does not fall 

 very soon afterwards. Second, pour hot water over 

 seed, let cool and soak from twelve to forty-eight hours. 

 Sow without allowing seeds to become dry. Either 

 method softens the hard seed-coats and hastens germina- 

 tion. They will then usually germinate in about seven 

 days to three or four weeks, depending upon the species 

 and the season in which they are sown. Seed may be 

 sown in the propagating-hquse at any time throughout the 

 year, though early spring is the natural time. For open 

 ground, sow in March or April. After germination, the 

 plants are pricked off into flats or pots and shifted into 

 larger ones as occasion requires. They are thus kept 

 in pots until they are ready to be transplanted to their 

 permanent quarters, since if placed in the open ground 

 at once the tap-roots will grow with too great rapidity 

 and the tree will either have to be balled or transplanted 

 with the greatest care to prevent its receiving a shock, 

 from which it will take at least a year to recover. When 

 buying seedlings from a nursery, therefore, reject all 

 those whose roots have penetrated the pot. While 

 several species (A. pycnantha, A. melanoxylon, A. 

 decurrens var. dealbata, etc.) have been known to resow 

 themselves in California, there is no danger of their 

 becoming a pest (such as A. armata in Australia), since 

 the seedlings are seldom able to live through the dry 

 season without irrigation. Cuttings should be made 

 from the half-ripened wood, of which the best are from 

 the side shoots of the main stem, taken with a heel. 

 No bottom heat is required, or very little, but they 

 should be covered with a light frame and kept moist 

 and cool by shading. They root slowly but freely and 

 should be potted immediately after rooting, but should 

 not be planted in the open soil until they have developed 

 good roots. 



Cultivation in greenhouses as florists' plants is con- 

 fined to few species, perhaps not more than a dozen 

 being commercially valuable. All of this most impor- 

 tant section thrive in a winter temperature ranging from 

 40 to 50; in fact, little above the freezing point is 

 sufficient. They do not like heat, and consequently are 

 not adapted for forcing. If wintered cool and allowed 

 to come along naturally with the increasing heat and 

 light of the spring, they will flower in March and April, 



a season when their graceful beauty is appreciated in the 

 private conservatory or is valuable to the commercial 

 florist. The prevailing color of all the Australian species 

 is yellow, varying from pale lemon to deep orange. 

 The tall-growing kinds, or rather those inclined to make 

 long, straight shoots, make excellent subjects for 

 planting permanently against a glass partition of a 

 conservatory, or against a pillar. There is scarcely a 



68. Abutilon 

 hybridum form. 



more beautiful plant 

 than A. pubescens, 

 with its slightly 

 drooping, yellow 

 racemes. It deserves 

 a favored place in 

 every cool conservatory. 

 The acacias are of easy 

 culture. If planted per- 

 manently in the border, 

 provision for drainage 

 should be made. A good, 

 coarse, turfy loam, of not 

 too heavy texture, is all 

 they want, with the addi- 

 tion of a fifth part of 

 leaf-mold or well-rotted 

 spent hops. Few of our greenhouse pests trouble them. 

 Water in abundance they like at all times, and in their 

 growing season, which is the early summer months, 

 a daily syringing is necessary. Several of the species of 

 bushy habit are very much grown as pot-plants in 

 Europe, and are now largely imported and sold for the 

 eastern trade. A . armata and A . Drummondii are good 

 species for this purpose. With our hot summers, the 

 commercial man will do better to import than to 

 attempt to grow them from cuttings. The acacias 

 need pruning, or they will soon grow straggling and un- 

 shapely; more especially is this true of those grown in 

 pots. After flowering, cut back the leading shoots 

 rather severely. Shift into a larger pot if roots demand 

 it, and encourage growth by a genial heat and syringing, 

 giving at same time abundance of light and air. They 

 should be plunged out-of-doors as soon as danger of 

 frost is past, and removed to the greenhouse before any 

 danger of early fall frosts. Cuttings root surely but not 

 quickly. The best material is the side shoots from a 

 main stem in the condition that florists call half-ripened 

 that is, not green and succulent as for a verbena, nor 

 as firm and hard as the wood of a hybrid perpetual rose 

 in November. The wood or shoot will be in about the 

 right condition in June. No bottom heat is needed, but 

 the cuttings should be covered with a close frame and 

 kept moderately moist and cool by shading. The fol- 

 lowing spring these young plants can be either planted 

 out-of-doors, where there is a good chance to keep them 

 well watered, or grown on in pots, as described above. 

 A few of the finest species are A. pubescens, suitable 

 for training on pillars; A. Riceana makes a bush or can 

 be trained; A. longifolia, an erect species, deserves a 

 permanent position in the greenhouse border. Of all the 

 species best adapted for medium-sized, compact pot- 

 plants, A. armata and A. Drummondii are the best. The 

 former has small, simple, dark green leaves and globular, 

 pure yellow flowers. A. Drummondii has drooping, 

 cylindrical, pale lemon flowers. As both these flower in 

 March without any forcing in our northern greenhouses, 



