Acacia deanei (green wattle)

Japanese name: アカシア デアネイ
Scientific name: Acacia deanei

[Overview]
An evergreen shrub or small tree about 1.5–7 m tall.
The twigs are ridged, and like the leaf axis and flower stalks they bear fine white to yellow appressed hairs.
The leaves are alternate and bipinnately compound.
They are bluish green and consist of 10–12 pairs of pinnae, each bearing 7–45 pairs of oblong to linear leaflets 1.5–12 mm long and 0.4–1.3 mm wide.
At the branch tips and in the leaf axils, globular flower heads are further gathered into racemose to paniculate inflorescences, densely bearing many cream to pale yellow, sometimes yellow, flowers.
The fruit is a flat, leathery pod about 3.5–18 cm long and 5.5–11 mm wide, constricted between the seeds.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed.
To promote germination, soak the harvested seeds in 80°C water for 30 minutes, leave them in the water for half a day to 2 days, and then sow.
The optimum germination temperature is 20–25°C, and germination begins about 1–3 weeks after sowing.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained, well-ventilated place.
In warm regions from the Kanto region southward, it can overwinter in the open ground.
It will not flower without enough sun.
Also, strong wind can break the branches and trunk, so avoid places exposed to strong wind.
It tolerates light frost.
Once established, plants need no watering unless the soil becomes extremely dry.
In summer, water in the morning or evening when the temperature is low.
Pruning hard after flowering can prolong the life of the tree.
Mature trees are difficult to transplant, but if it is unavoidable, root-prune them the previous year.
Pests and diseases include scale insects and aphids.

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