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obtuse

sick looking obtusifolia

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hi there,

I have these sick looking Acacia Obtusifolia. there are two of them.

I would take them outside to half shade during the day, and back indoors for nights, which i have since learnt is a no no.

we have had a lot of cold days then suddenly really hot days, so is it the weather?

or am i just over / underwatering it. is it too much phosphorous?

I have others that arent as old (a week younger), but are all looking really healthy, and have all been indoors the whole time, so i suspect i have just shocked these two.

I'm learning, but would like them to pull through. I would like confirmation of what i have done wrong.

anyway, cheers.

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hmmm....yeah its hard to say. But they look to me like they're not getting enough sun (skinny small growth-reaching for the light).

dont let them dry out when they are small, or at all for that matter. As long as you use a native fertiliser at the correct rate, a well drained mix and give it plenty of sun, you'll be sweet.

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Be careful even with native inorganic ferts - and especially be careful to only use native potting mix. At such a young age I wouldn't think they would need much fert at all and should get it from the potting mix.

Something is definitely up because they don't look like any obtus seedlings I've ever grown.

When they are seedlings they still don't like too much water so you're often better off using tubes and a free draining mix and instead watering them regularly. I usually germinate them in 2" tubes with a 50:40:10 peat:prop sand:perlite and a layer of vermiculite over the seeds - transplant after a few weeks into bigger tubes with an aus native potting mix and the addition of some more perlite\prop sand for drainage purposes.

A slow release native fert isn't usually added until potted on into 5" pots, but you're better off using an organic nitrogenous fert to be safe. They also dig a fair bit of sunlight.

It shouldn't be Phos toxicity because that is usually indicated by scorching of the phyllodes (see lower phyllodes of the pic below) - but as I said, at such a young age they shouldn't need any fertilisers.

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IMHO your seedlings are probably gonners, but I learnt with my first attempt at growing obtus that it's best to try again and learn from your mistakes.

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Hi everyone,

thanks for the great responses, and sorry for the delay in answering.

Pala, they were about 6 - 8 weeks old.

IndigoSunrise and Phloom thanks for your answers.

I am definotly doing something wrong. I have eight other plant who are all doing ok, although another died recently after a really hot day. I think i planted that one way too late in the season. otherwise they are all slow growing.

They are all still inside, will it shock them too much if i move them all outside? I think i should move them outside permanently but i am worried about shock. they definotly need more sunlight.

I'd really like to see photos of how they are meant to look at say 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, 6 months etc. so i can compare what i have with what i am supposed to have.

any more info would be invaluable.

cheers. Obtuse.

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they can grow quite fast if given ideal conditions, and i guess tas is a good location to grow them. you have to move them outside, the sooner the better, as indoors certainly isn't what they like. put them in a well protected area with lots of shade, but bright (idealy underneath some eucalypts). than after a few weeks give them a bit more light. they can take a lot of light, if the soil gets ample water, and is free draining. i guess now but, they can get 2m tall within 2 years and flower a bit later for the first time, in the native habitat.

let the pots dry out a bit between waterings, it's saver to keep them too dry than too wet.

it's definately not the heat that hurts them although for sure they don't like it too hot, as my plants even survive tropical heat and water stress!

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