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YOU’LL NEED A WEDGE TO HANG THAT DOOR
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YOU’LL NEED A WEDGE TO HANG THAT DOOR

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  1. Home
  2. Garden

How to grow and care for wattle

Turn up the sunshine in your yard this spring! - by Jenny Dillon
  • 02 Nov 2020

With their masses of yellow blooms, wattles are nothing short of spectacular. These bush beauties (Acacia sp.) are true performers.

WATCH: All about wattle with Graham Ross

Wattle is easy to grow, quick to mature, forgiving of neglect and generous with their flowers. There’s a truly mind-boggling range in Australia – it’s estimated at as many as 850 species!

Their growth habits vary vastly, from tall trees to screen plants, shrubs and ground covers. In recent years, compact forms with attractive foliage have been released, which are marvellous for growing in large pots and tubs.

Quick to shine

Wattles live life in the fast lane, growing rapidly from seed and flowering profusely from a young age. On the flip-side, they can also be short-lived, lasting between seven and 12 years. However, you can use this to your advantage.

Great colonisers (meaning they’re good at growing in disturbed or freshly cleared soil), wattles can be planted up and used to protect more delicate understorey plants from above. 

For gardeners confronting bare land, wattles are a quick screening plant to use while slower plants establish. In fact, to see their colonising habits in action, you only have to watch an area of bushland after fire, as wattles are often the first seedlings to pop up – they’re the true pioneers of the bush.

Wattle
Getty

How to care for wattles

Position

Wattles grow happily in any sunny to semi-shaded spot. They have good tolerance to extremes of both heat and cold, however, if your garden is prone to heavy winter frosts, it’s worth planting species indigenous to your area, as these will be the most robust growers.

Soil

Wattles aren’t fussy about soil types but do need it to be free draining, so don’t plant in soggy spots that are slow to drain after heavy rainfall.

Watering

Water young trees regularly while they’re establishing. Once settled, wattles are hardy, waterwise plants that will get by on natural rainfall. During heatwaves and droughts, give them a drink to keep them going. 

Fertiliser

Because they can ‘fix’ their own nitrogen, it’s not necessary to feed wattles. However, if planted among other native plants, they won’t mind a small amount of blood and bone or a low-phosphorus native plant food.

Pruning

While plants are young, and directly after flowering, tip pruning helps keep wattles bushy and compact, prolongs their life, and removes seed heads. But avoid heavy pruning – don’t cut into wood any thicker than a pencil.

Mulch

Apply a layer of natural leaf litter or chunky bark over the soil to keep the roots cool, conserve soil moisture and restrict weed growth. Just keep it well back from the trunk itself.

Acacia cognata

Acacia cognata, most commonly known as Bower or River wattle

Getty

Wattles for small gardens

Many wattles may be too large or straggly when not in flower to be suitable for your garden. But breeders have now produced a host of smaller wattles suited to the Australian garden. Tall, small, elegant or cute, they can be tumbling over a wall, rippling along a border, standing proud as a specimen or even standing out with a blaze of scarlet flowers.

Wattle

If you get tired of the lovely feathery, grey-tinted foliage of the Cootamundra wattle (A. baileyana) the bright yellow winter flowers will hide it for you

Getty

Check with your local council first

Check with your local authority before buying a wattle. Despite being "Australian natives", some may be considered a weed in your area and not encouraged. For example, Cootamundra wattle (Acacia baileyana) is discouraged outside NSW and the silver or Mount Morgan wattle (A. podalriifolia) outside Queensland.

Wattle seed pods

Wattle seed pods

Getty

Wattle seeds

After flowering has finished, wattles are covered with hundreds of dangling seed pods. A staple of Indigenous diets for more than 60,000 years, they can be used in multiple ways. Try the flour in damper or bread - or try this recipe for kakadu plum and wattleseed brownie.

Wattle

Cootamundra wattle (Acacia Baileyana)

Getty

Wattles for your state

NSW

Cootamundra wattle (A. baileyana)

Mudgee or Pilliga wattle (A. spectabilis)

West Wyalong wattle (A. cardiophylla)

VICTORIA

Mallee wattle (A. Montana)

Sydney golden wattle (A. longifolia)

QUEENSLAND

Queensland silver wattle (A. Podalyriifolia)

Weeping myall (A. pendula)

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Flinders Ranges wattle (A. Iteaphylla)

Barrier Range wattle (A. beckleri)

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Drummond's wattle (A. drummondii)

NORTHERN TERRITORY

Swamp wattle (A. dimidiata)

TASMANIA

Sweet-scented wattle (A. suaveolens). Also throughout mainland east coast. 

You might also like:

The essential guide to native plants

5 plants that will attract native wildlife into your garden

5 edible Australian native plants you can grow at home

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Jenny Dillon
Jenny Dillon
Jenny Dillon is the garden editor of Better Homes and Gardens. Her passion for gardening began in her mother’s huge vegetable patch and orchard in the country and now extends to the challenge of city plots, where the constraints are countered by the delights.

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YOU’LL NEED A WEDGE TO HANG THAT DOOR
Watch 6:32

YOU’LL NEED A WEDGE TO HANG THAT DOOR

{headline}

{headline}

How to create a native verge garden

How to create a native verge garden

The essential guide to Australian native plants

The essential guide to Australian native plants

How to help your garden survive a heatwave

How to help your garden survive a heatwave

Is this Australia's best garden for seniors?

Is this Australia's best garden for seniors?

{headline}

{headline}

How to grow passionfruit

How to grow passionfruit

The ultimate guide to Australian native flowers

The ultimate guide to Australian native flowers

How to grow and care for ranunculus

How to grow and care for ranunculus

{headline}

{headline}

How to make beautiful flower pots at home

How to make beautiful flower pots at home

How to make a vertical pipe garden

How to make a vertical pipe garden

How to tell the difference between Birds of Paradise plants

How to tell the difference between Birds of Paradise plants

3 ways to grow watercress at home

3 ways to grow watercress at home

5 edible Australian native plants you can grow at home

5 edible Australian native plants you can grow at home

How to care for watermelon peperomia

How to care for watermelon peperomia

How to build a pallet wall planter

How to build a pallet wall planter

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