Hardiness zones
Sunset 8, 9, 12-24
USDA 8 - 11
Landscape Use: For xeric landscape design themes only as a background, screen, informal hedge, single or group of multiple trunk small trees.
Form & Character: Evergreen, VERY STIFF and upright to spreading with age, large shrub to small tree, dry.
Growth Habit: Stiffly branched, slow growth rate to 20 to 25' with some what less than equal spread.
Foliage/texture: Small grayish green narrow phyllodes, sometimes glaucous, new phyllodes are bronzy brown, linear to lanceolate than 3", medium fine texture
Flowers & fruits: Flowers yellow and rod shaped, prominent stamens. Fruit in spring are a small flattened pod, non descript
Seasonal color: Flowers episodically during warm season, mostly heavily during fall.
Temperature: Heat loving, cold tolerant to 15oF
Light: Full sun
Soil: Tolerant of alkaline soils, although the phyllodes tend to yellow somewhat in soils of high alkalinity and salinity. Chelate micronutrient fertilizers will correct this problem quickly but a rarely required.
Watering: Little additional water from irrigation after establishment. Requires no water during the winter months and only every one to two weeks during summer. More frequent irrigations can dramatically increase the growth rate.
Pruning: Very little needed except to give shape
Propagation: Seed, acid or mechanical scarification needed. Semi hardwood cuttings are successful during the summer months only.
Disease and pests: None
Additional comments: This is a tough (a la the pirate "Arrrrrrrr") large background shrub or small tree for xeric landscapes because of it's moisture and heat stress tolerance.
