Do you know John Williamsons’ song … Cootamundra Wattle?
“Hey it’s July and the winter sun is shining. And the Cootamundra wattle is my friend”. Worth looking up on YouTube; one of his best songs. We call him the ‘Living Lawson’.
Cootamundra wattle, Acacia baileyana, offers silver or purple foliage and brilliant yellow flowers
There are many beautiful forms of wattle, but this one, Acacia baileyana ‘Goldilocks’ is well worth growing.
It’s a grafted, weeping Cootamundra wattle, a prostrate form of the iconic Aussie plant. It produces a mass of primrose-yellow flowers in winter and spring
and makes a spectacular feature plant for native or formal gardens.
Hardy and fast growing to 1.5m, these have a longer life span than many wattles. thrives in cool - temperate climates. Lightly prune after flowering, as
you would a weeping prunus. Fertilise with any good native plant fertiliser, avoiding phosphorus. Not prone to pests or disease. They are fine in frost
and are low water users.
And the good news is, this form does not produce viable seed so does not pose a risk as an environmental weed.
Read more from Angus Stewart about wattles that are synonymous with Australia, giving us our national floral emblem, Acacia pycnantha, with its
familiar bold green and gold colours. Understanding how wattles fit into the Australian bush will help you get the best out of them in the garden.
Read more about flowering wattle here.