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Acacia aphylla (Live Wire) - A very interesting and attractive upright spiny leafless shrub that can grow 6 to 9 feet tall but usually is seen around 4 to 6 feet tall. It has intricately branched smooth blue-green rounded stems that are sharp tipped but soft enough to not be terribly dangerous. In late winter to mid spring appear the individual bright yellow globular flower heads at stem branches with each cluster having 20 to 30 small petaless flowers.
Plant in full to part sun in a well-drained soil and irrigate infrequently to not at all once established. This is a drought tolerant plant in our mediterranean climate and is hardy down to at least to 18 to 20°F. The leafless stems have the chlorophyll that enables it to photosynthesize without leaves, much the way cacti and succulents do to conserve water, and some consider this plant to be a succulent although it really is a woody shrub. If it gets out of bounds or loses good color, prune it hard after flowering and allow to regenerate within a few months. Super tough and drought tolerant in the ground and an excellent and attractive container plant.
Acacia aphylla has a very restricted natural range in open forests on hillsides
Information displayed on this page about Acacia aphylla is based on our research conducted about this plant in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about it as it has grown in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
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