Gossamer Wattle

Gossamer Wattle (Acacia floribunda) is the fast native answer to a bare boundary. It reaches about 6m tall and 4m wide with a soft weeping habit, and through late winter and spring it carries slender cream to pale yellow flower rods along every branch. Planted 2m apart it screens in two to three years.

Why you'll love it

• A soft weeping shape. Fine willow like foliage on arching branches, so a row reads as a green curtain rather than a wall.
• It handles poor ground. Thin, infertile and rocky soils suit it, and as a wattle it fixes its own nitrogen.
• Frost hardy, drought hardy, wind hardy. An eastern Australian native that copes with cold southern winters, long dry spells and exposed sites.
• Alive with wildlife. Spring flowers bring bees and butterflies, and the fine dense canopy gives small birds cover to nest in.

Where it works best

Screening and privacy. Plant 2m apart in a single row, leaving each tree room for its weeping shape.

Windbreaks and rural blocks. A double staggered row at 2m filters wind rather than stopping it dead, and it tolerates the poor soil along most fence lines.

Feature planting and coastal gardens. As a single tree the weeping habit and spring flowering carry a front garden, and it takes coastal conditions a street back from the water.

Growing Gossamer Wattle in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun for the densest canopy and heaviest flowering. It suits warm temperate, cool temperate, subtropical and Mediterranean gardens, and being frost hardy it takes cold southern winters unprotected.

Soil. Almost anything that drains. Poor, sandy and rocky soils are fine; rich beds push soft growth prone to wind damage. No manure or high phosphorus fertiliser. On heavy clay, plant on a raised mound.

Water and feed. Water deeply once or twice a week through the first summer, then leave it to rainfall except in extended drought. Feeding is rarely needed; if growth is pale use a low phosphorus native food in early spring.

Pruning. Tip prune from planting and trim lightly after flowering to keep it dense and reduce seed set. Avoid cutting into thick bare wood, which reshoots poorly.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in three sizes: 200mm pots in packs of six, 250mm pots in packs of three, and advanced 45L specimens. The 200mm and 250mm plants are young, single stemmed and the value choice for a long boundary, catching up within a season or two. The 45L size arrives branched and already tall.

Fine foliage can look tousled after transit and settles within a fortnight. Stake young plants on windy sites for the first year. Expect strong new growth within four to six weeks in warm months. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Read the complete acacia and wattle care guide.
• Compare other screening plants in the 4m to 8m band.
• Browse the wider Australian native trees range.
• See more windbreaks and exposed sites.

Common questions

How fast does it actually grow?

With water through the first summer, one to two metres of height a year is realistic. Growth slows as it approaches its mature 6m.

How long will it live?

Expect 15 to 20 years, normal for a fast growing wattle. Use it as quick cover while slower, longer lived plants grow up behind.

Are the roots a problem near paving?

It is a surface rooting tree, so leave at least 2m of clearance from paths, driveways and services. Given room it is well behaved on most suburban blocks.

Western Australia: this plant is listed as an environmental weed in WA, where it escapes from gardens into bushland. We do not recommend it for WA gardens. Please choose a local alternative.