Blood Trance Fusion Posted January 29, 2011 My next plant to start a colony/garden of is Acacia obtusifolia. I was wondering, given my limited (what isn't?) space, how far much room should I give them to give them the best chance of growing with as many of their kind as possible? I do plan to sustainably trim/prune them when possible but what's a safe size of plant (radius range) and from that; what margin should I leave between them? My mostly-arbitrary guess is expect a radius of 0,75m and then ,5m as a buffer to walk through and give them breathing space which has me thinking of 2m apart. Let it be known I've not knowingly seen a plant in the wild. I only know my very young children currently live less than 0,1m apart. Help is very much appreciated as I'm trying to work out how many I can fit. Many thanks in advance which, in future, can further substantiate to thanks of seeds if everything goes to plan as I might be a come-to-gardener for this species. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kindness Posted January 30, 2011 More space, bigger trees seems to be what happens in the long term. In the bush there is many when the bush has been damaged, thinning to fewer large ones as it gets older again. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blood Trance Fusion Posted January 31, 2011 Okay. Thanks, I will at least double the spacing then. Does anyone know if adult leaves are "active" (I've read that young leaves definitely are)? My plan was to simply prune them all sustainably by taking small amounts of leaves or small branches while keeping the plant healthy. Is this even possible? I've read some say that the most effective and healthiest harvesting of Acacia obtusifolia is by felling one tree and using it all rather than harassing a group of them. Please advise. I'm really trying to do the right thing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kindness Posted January 31, 2011 (edited) some interesting reading might bring you up to speed http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=16565&st=240 or an all time comment made by _e_ here: http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=12532 A good plan if you are thinking of wild crafting / harvesting is to wait for some decent storms which will naturally knock branches or trees down. Another would be to know your areas and what is happening within them, i.e. logging coups. Best of all as you are doing, grow your own edit: oh and express your concern to your local member about the proposed changes to plants which will become illegal to grow which include acacias http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=26539 Edited January 31, 2011 by kindness 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blood Trance Fusion Posted January 31, 2011 Some good reading, thanks (until the topic gets derailed into arguing about plant sentience)! I mostly got the message that felling one's better than taking bits from a lot. Do you know anything about their growth rate? It sounds like 5+ years before a worthwhile harvesting time. Does that sound off? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kindness Posted January 31, 2011 i dunno man, just place your hands on the plant and feel....oops I'm drifting off into hippy waffle. A couple of years old seems to be okay from what I have heard, they're fairly fast growers. I'd guess at less than 5 being okay. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blood Trance Fusion Posted January 31, 2011 i dunno man, just place your hands on the plant and feel....oops I'm drifting off into hippy waffle. No - I can understand that. Unless it gives written consent for euthenasia, they won't be harvested . A couple of years old seems to be okay from what I have heard, they're fairly fast growers. I'd guess at less than 5 being okay. Thanks! That sounds really good. My friend won't have enough free time to build his log cabin in the next 5 years so this sounds like a great timeframe for harvesting the lumber. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blood Trance Fusion Posted February 1, 2011 (edited) For anyone interested, LexTek uses a 5-year-old tree and yields 5,9g. Edited February 1, 2011 by Blood Trance Fusion Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kadakuda Posted February 10, 2011 Have not grown this species but other species i would probably grow at least 5m apart if long term is considered. But if you prune and get them to be less bushy and just grow straighter/taller main stems then that will probably be ok if you dont get much strong winds there. we harvested an entire tree once that fell in a typhoon. from a different species (confusa) that was about 12" at the base. we took all stem bark form any stem bigger than 6" and got about 25kg of bark. the tree was about 20m high. this tree was pretty much a single stem until about 10m where it forked a bit. grown like that i could see tighter spacing like 3m, but i bt growth is much slower with the lesser light levels. you probably need to experiment to see at what spacing gives the most growth to "footprint size" in your spot and go from there. growing on a slope that faces the sun will have obvious benefits, if your in that kind of situation. And OZ is making Acacies illegal to grow....i want to say im shocked, but the Aussie gov seems to be missing some meds and making all kinds of whacky laws...so....sorry. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
