Sweet acacia

Acacia farnesiana

Description

Sweet acacia gets its name from the richly fragrant yellow flowers it produces each spring. Native to deserts of the Southwest, Mexico and Chile, this drought adapted plant can be grown as a large mounding shrub or medium size deciduous tree with a broad canopy. Old specimens can reach 20-25 ft. tall and as wide. Branches have numerous short spines and are covered with small bipinnately divided leaves that produce a soft and fine texture; it achieves intermediate shade value. Countless showy, round flowers occur in early to mid-spring and are bright yellow and sweetly fragrant.

Sweet acacia has great potential for Inland Empire gardens, particularly in southwestern style plantings. It prefers well-drained soils and is naturally suited to aridity, wind, full sun, high summer temperatures and winter cold to 18-20°F. It is adapted to periods of summer drought and will become drought-deciduous without summer moisture. It is suited as a patio specimen, in raised planters and as an entryway tree.

Plant Type: Tree, Native
Foliage Character: Winter deciduous
Habit: Open, Mounding, Low-branching
Growth Rate: Moderate
Foliage Color: Light green
Flower Color: Yellow
Flower Season: Spring
Soil Adaptations: Well-draining soil, Clay
Exposure Adaptations: Wind, Heat, Frost, Aridity, All day sun
Function: Wildlife value, Specimen, Parkway and median tree, Flowering accent plant, California native, Fragrant flowers
Height: 20 ft. – 25 ft.
Width: 20 ft. – 25 ft.

Watering Schedule: Low 2

For most situations, we recommend watering deeply every 2 weeks after establishment.

Learn how to apply this watering schedule to your landscape on our How to water waterwise and California native plants page.

Important Notes

These are general guidelines. Always observe and adjust as necessary for your landscape.
If it rains over 1” you will likely not need to water for at least another two weeks. Before watering again, check the soil. It should be significantly dry at least 4” below the soil surface before watering.
To save water, in many cases you can go longer in between waterings during the winter, often up to 3-4 weeks between watering for well-established plants. Two weeks after watering, check the soil approximately 4” below the surface. If it is still significantly moist, you can wait longer before watering again.
In most cases, if you have a “smart timer” or weather sensitive irrigation controller, you may use these features to save some water in in the fall and winter. If you are using automatic weather adjusting functions, continue to allow the timer to run every two weeks. It will adjust the number of minutes it runs to account for the cooler weather.
It is important to group plants with the same water needs together in the landscape to avoid needing to over or under water plants when running your irrigation system.