I featured
Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt' in May's Foliage Follow-up post, crowing a bit about how well these plants were doing in my garden, particularly the cluster of 3 plants underneath an
Agonis flexuosa (peppermint willow) in a very dry section of the back garden. Here's what the area looked like in May:
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| Acacia in mid-May |
Now, if you consider that photo, you'll note that the
Acacia was already starting to enroach on the succulents in front of it. Last week, while trying to find a spot for a new
Aeonium nobile, I realized that the
Acacia had climbed right over a good many of those succulents when I wasn't paying attention. By the time I got around to cleaning up the area a few days ago, I'd already partially uncovered 2 of 3
Agave 'Joe Hoak' but these photos give you an idea of the "before" state:
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| The Aeonium arboreum and ceramic fish had all but disappeared. The Aloe vanbaelenii x ferox was half-covered. The smallest 'Joe Hoak', a gift from a fellow blogger, was still nearly invisible and even Agave ovatifolia 'Vanzie' had been engulfed. |
I removed a large amount of the encroaching Acacia foliage but I suspect it won't be long before the succulents are swallowed up by
'Cousin Itt' again.
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| After photo #1: If you look closely, you may notice that the Acacia is still covering up other plants close to the trunk of the peppermint willow. Those are Agapanthus. I'm leaving them to their own devices. The Phlomis in the background seems safe - for now. |
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| After photo #2, showing all 3 "rescued"'Joe Hoaks'. I'm not really concerned with the Aeoniums - I have a nearly endless supply. |
I haven't decided whether to relocate some or all of the succulents and simply let
'Cousin Itt' do its thing, or to just put the
Acacia on a quarterly pruning schedule. What would you do?
This is my belated Foliage Follow-up post. For others,
visit Pam at Digging.
All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
