ACACIA dunnii

Often used as a feature plant for its spectacular foliage the flowers form as golden balls 2cm in diameter and appear most of the year.
The large phyllodes (leaves) grow to 30cm long and 20cm in width, hence the name Elephant ears wattle.

A spectacular foliage plant but cold sensitive. Good drainage and a sunny position are recommended.

Occurs naturally in the top end of Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

Grow notes:

Although seed can be sown most of the year in many parts of Australia seed is generally best sown in spring or autumn in temperate climates, avoid the coldest and hottest months of the year. The optimum germination temperature for germination is around 18-22°C.

Acacia seeds germinate readily, however, they do have a hard outer coating that is impervious to water and generally, germination will normally not occur unless the seed is scarified by abrading or pre-treated with boiling water first.

1. Place the seed in a container and pour in just boiled water and allow to soak overnight.
2. The swollen seed can then be sown, re-treat seeds that have not swollen.
3. Sow the depth of the seed and keep warm & moist but not wet.
4. Germination should occur in 10-21 days @ 18-22C.

General note: Seeds of many natives are dormant and require specific conditions or pre-treatment for germination.
Do not be too hasty to discard seed that does not germinate, seeds will often lay dormant until the conditions are similar to their natural requirements for germination to occur. Containers put to one side will often surprise long after they were discarded.