Accacia Dealbata - Browing leaves

I brought an acacia dealbata last year. It was a lovely plant and has reached the height of 6 foot. It made it all the way through the winter but when we had the cold spell a month ago it seems to have killed it. Its all gone brown bar a few leaves at the bottom and ones near to the stem. When it was cold i covered it with fleece so im guessing its the cold wind that has done it and not the frost.
Is there anything i can do to save it?

 

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Acacia dealbata not really suitable for outdoors other than in the mild South West; RHS site recommends an unheated greenhouse. I don't know if it is depth of cold, or prolonged cold, that does the damage. Fingers crossed, it may come back from the bottom. Leave it the whole of this year before declaring it dead, in circumstances like this it can take ages for plants to have another go. Planting on a sheltered, South facing, wall would help in future Winters - if you can

 

Im thinking now to just replace it. The man at the garden centre told me it was hardy to -10, but to cover it up in any sever frosts. Which i did. Shame because it was a lovely plant last summer and everyone loved the look and feel of the leaves. Is there anything else similar that would be hardy then?

 

Albizia perhaps

I've got Albizia "Summer Chocolate" which looks proper-poorly, and that WAS in unheated glass all Winter (lowest temp -0.5C so apart from one or two nights "frost free"). its a smart looking plant though!

RHS doesn't list that variety (so maybe mine is less hardy than "bog standard" variety), and only lists "Albizia julibrissin f. rosea AGM" variety and that is listed as H3 - which would be hardier than the "H2-H3" [which RHS list for Acacia dealbata]

 

Acacia Dealbata or hardly any other Acacias can take -10c even mature trees would probably be damaged beyond repair, My Acacia Baileyanas have both gone completely brown and may die having been through a couple of -7/9cs recently and that is on the South Coast.
If you replace your Acacia with another and we have as bad a Winter as the last one, it may not be strong enough to get through it as it wouldn't have formed much protective bark and end up with the same problem.
Albizia Julibrissin is much hardier but it is deciduous and flowers fairly poorly in our summers.

Kristen, I have one remaining A Summer Chocolate (4 years old from seed) which stayed outside this Winter in its pot and is now in the ground and seems to have leaf buds swelling but again it may only end up a foliage shrub but at least a bronze leaf one.

 

That's good to hear. Hoepfully I've jsut mistaken mine losing its leaves and "dead" !!

They aren't mad about Wind ... but that's probably true of Acacia too?

Its not the same thing, and perhaps doesn't tick the right boxes for snapshot26, but how about a Pseudoacacia? (P robinia frisia would be the most commonly quoted one). Nice and yellow in Autumn, deciduous though.

 

Picture of mine last Summer, used to fill-out our tubs

 

I seen a 10ft dealbata on my way to work in the mornings, its just coming into flower.
A very large one further up the road, must have been 20ft plus, has struggled to recover after the very cold winter of a couple of years ago, but its still alive.
We had minus 9 on two nights a few weeks back.

My Acacia pravissima is virtually indestructible but lack the pinnate foliage of dealbata.

I find Albizia julibrissin to be totally hardy, similar foliage but probably not so dense on older trees, and one of mine appears to be getting into flowering mode, at last.

 

How old is your Albizia Pete?

Kristen - both my Albizia julibrissin went totally deciduous in the conservatory over the darkest days of winter.

 

I've got a few but the oldest is about 7yrs, it flowered reasonably if a bit pale last summer.
I'm trying something out, as one I grew back in the 80s had very dark foliage, these ones tend to be pale green.
They are deciduous, I dont think you can keep them evergreen.

 

I asked as mine are about 15months old, so I wondered what sort of time scale I'm working to.

I'm sure that it's an issue of quality of light, as the conservatory only dips to 10°c on the coldest of nights.

 

The Acacia dealbata and it's family are all coming into bloom here at the moment and the air is full of a heady honey scent. Here are some pics from the past as I haven't been up into the mountains these past couple of weeks ...







They have been classified as an invasive species here and are not allowed to be sold anymore but they are a sight and scent to behold.

I am surprised the Albizia julibrissin is hardy in the UK. I wish I had one here rather than two Jacarandas ... with hindsight ....

PS Reading the previous posts, Jacaranda nor Albizia are evergreen here unless we are exceptionally mild ..

 

No, they are deciduous.

 

Nice Acacias Victoria, as always.
Albizia is considered an invasive weed in the US I believe.

 

I was musing as to whether it's the short days that cause this..............