How to take Acacia maidenii clones?

[Jesus On Peyote]

Hey,

Wondering if anyone knows any tips on cutting clones of maidenii? Like how big should the shoot be? does leaving it in water n waiting for roots work or straight in some soil? Thanks for any advice.

[indigo264nm]

You can't... Acacia cuttings generally don't strike (or suvive long if they do). Some spp. strike but they are usually prostrate variations to my knowledge.

You'll just have to do it by seed.

[Jesus On Peyote]

Now thats not true.

I bought a few cuts from the SaB store 2 or so years ago, when i got em they where cuts,and rooted nicely. Now theira a decent size and has some new shoots comming out n wanted to reroot some.

[PD.]

Acacias can be grown from cuttings but it is hard to almost impossible with most.

It depends on the type, location, season and prolly a hundered other variables.

Like Indigo said, just do it by seed. Acacias generally produce a large amount of seed and it is a far more viable option than cutting into a live plant. The amount of time spent trying to get a cutting up and healthy would be far better spent on producing plants via seed.

[Torsten]

Now thats not true.

I bought a few cuts from the SaB store 2 or so years ago, when i got em they where cuts,and rooted nicely. Now theira a decent size and has some new shoots comming out n wanted to reroot some.

we have never produced Acacias from cuttings. we have tried to grow phlebs from cuttings, but failed.

[Jesus On Peyote]

in that case i dont know where the hell my accadia came from but i know its there. ill find a way and post it if im successful

[Conan Troutman]

how bout aerial layering?

[indigo264nm]

^^^ ariel layering follows the same principle as cuttings. You're expecting the nodes to change from shooting to rooting just like when you take a cutting, but Acacia spp. aren't suited to that method of propagation.

Part of the problem is with many natives they need the taproot (by memory - botany is a bit hazy) being sent out the bottom at seed germination to an established the proper root system for those specific plants, like how eucalypts are generally propagated by seed and put into tubes to give enough depth required for the developing roots.

[planthelper]

very young material might strike...

i mean genuine, juvenile growth, which you can obtain by cutting the plant back.

you could just cut back one branch and use it's new shoots.

this shoots resemble very much the look of seedlings...

sometimes you have to re cut a few times till infant growth appeares.

Edited February 10, 2007 by planthelper

[Jesus On Peyote]

Ta for the tip PH.

Whats aerial layering?

[indigo264nm]

Although what PH was saying is true, you'd still require a lot of practice and be highly skilled and experienced in propagation techniques before you could take a batch of cuttings and have notable success.

I managed to get 3 out of roughly 30 cuttings of A. baileyana by memory to show signs of root growth and had not dropped the little ammount of foliage on the top after about 3-4 months I still could not get them to survive.. these were taken from the newest growth on limbs high up on a large tree just before flowering started... These cuttings were inside in a large glasshouse with controlled temperature, lighting and misting. I am not pretending to be an expert in propagation but I have an adequate ammount of knowledge and practice, and I can say for myself it's not worth bothering to attempt propagating Acacia's by cutting.

Aeriel layering is a technique of propagation where a live branch is wounded in a certain way and the wound is covered in something like moist peat wrapped up in plastic tightly and taped around the branch which has not been removed like you would do with cuttings. The result is that wounded stem forms roots inside the plastic covered media.

[Jesus On Peyote]

Thanks for the info Indigo, i think my mum used to use ariel layering ages ago on lemon n other trees but never knew what it was called\classified as.

doesent sound too promising but ill have a go at trying to root a branch with layering and ill try some modified cloning methods, if anything takes ill post a how to.

[Greeny]

I wonder if you cloned them like a mull plant if that would work

Just get a small cutting without many leaves dip the bottom in water then dip it in some root growth hormone then stick it in some rock wool and she should grow

Just a thought

Greeny out

[Jesus On Peyote]

Hey greeny, yea i was gonna give that a go too.Surely there must be a way.and if there is then by george ill find it.

[indigo264nm]

^^^ Good luck... if you're gonna try it, go for a range of different sized cuttings.

Try a mix of 4:1 coarse sand (or maybe perlite): peat

You might wanna get some seeds happening as well just in case though.

[Torsten]

I wonder if you cloned them like a mull plant if that would work

Just get a small cutting without many leaves dip the bottom in water then dip it in some root growth hormone then stick it in some rock wool and she should grow

Isn't that just a standard cutting?

[tonic]

Just plant seeds already! Much more reliable

[Jesus On Peyote]

Lol tonic i think your right, so far all the ones iv tried have died within the week,within 2 days the leaves get hard n cruncy then it jus sits there n dies out,altho i still think theirs a way to clone em,jus needa figure it out.

Iv had the one main tree i got as a eaither a clone ( i thought) or seed (most likely) for about 2 years now and its grown at least 2 meters tall but hasent flowerd at all yet? anyone know how long from seed it takes for it to start flowering? and which seasons (i think iv read it was from september to january but not sure).Also when she does start flowering how do the seeds develop? do they seed(THeres a scientific name for it ) themselfs or do they need a "partner" to polenate ?

Sorry if msg reads weirdly

[tonic]

Yeah it is a generally accepted thing in horticulture that Acacias are propagated by seed, cuttings just don't seem to work and if they do it isn't a very practical method of propagation as they mostly don't survive.

It should only take a few years for them to flower. They flower through autumn and winter.

Also when she does start flowering how do the seeds develop?

How do you mean? Not sure exactly what you're asking here?

Pretty sure they need to be pollinated to produce seed, so you may want to get a few more or if you're in an area where they grow naturally there should'nt be a problem.

[Mycot]

Growing acacia's from stem cuttings may be difficult though not impossible. Got an article where some researchers were experimenting with acacia cuttings of several different species. They got good strike rates with some species and low with others.

They also noted better strike rates with several cuttings per pot over single cuttings. In addition they noted that the species with lower strike rates also had thicker cambium(bark) layers. Perhaps artificially thinning this layer(eg via sandpaper) would improve the strike rate of these difficult species.

Also to be noted is that A.maidenii is a succering species so perhaps root cuttings may work.

[Jesus On Peyote]

Thanks for the tip Mycot, never tried that method, ill let yas know when after i try it.

Also when she does start flowering how do the seeds develop?

How do you mean? Not sure exactly what you're asking here?

Pretty sure they need to be pollinated to produce seed, so you may want to get a few more or if you're in an area where they grow naturally there should'nt be a problem.

Yea i was wondering if they needed another tree to pollinate em like maryjane. (male/female) type thing.

So does that mean it wont produce seeds if its all on its lonesome?

[indigo264nm]

I was under the impression that they were self polinating.

[Jesus On Peyote]

I sure hope so, hopefully someone with more knowledge on Acacias will clear it up for us