Taking a short break from looking at Austin pictures, I finally found a plant i'd been looking for! Before our heat got completely insane, i finally found a plant i'd been looking for (locally) for over 2 years - acacia cognata Cousin Itt. I fell in plant-lust with it after seeing it in botanical gardens and blogs, and even figured out the "perfect" spot for it in my garden. And then I couldn't find it anywhere...
I wanted it to replace a pink muhly grass that was in too much shade to bloom well, next to the dry creek bed. Since it looked horrible, and i couldn't find Cousin Itt, i eventually planted a purple cordyline instead. Amazingly enough, it didn't die!
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| mostly-happy cordyline |
I realize that picture doesn't make that spot look particularly shady, but after about 2pm, the sun moves behind the wall on the right side, so it mostly gets morning sun. And in my garden, that counts as "shade".
And then a few weeks ago, i was "just looking" at one of the nurseries, and i found:
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| Cousin Itt! Fancy seeing you here! |
So obviously i bought it. And i did think about whether there were other spots to plant it, but the most likely spot (the hill side) seemed like guaranteed death. So with some quick shovel work, the cordyline was evicted, and Cousin Itt put in where i wanted it 2 years ago.
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| In place - the green will go much better with the grasses that are further down the creek bed |
Supposedly, acacia cognata can take 'full sun' (probably not this full sun), and have low water needs, so that should work. Cold hardiness is a bit of a gamble, but i have several other acacia's that seem to be surviving fairly well, so fingers crossed.
The poor cordyline didn't get tossed - there was a spot in the front garden where something else had died, so it got moved:
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| The cordyline in its new spot - this might be too much sun for the purple leaves... |
You can see that it's now in closer proximity to other plants - i think it should be able to outgrow the neighbors vertically, assuming it survives. Ironically, it's closest neighbor is now acacia redolens. This poor cordyline really needs to compete with all members of acacia for space!
I hope 'Cousin Itt' comes through for you, Renee. I've got 6 of these plants, all well-established, and all but one (in the deepest shade) were badly burned when our temperature hit 110F on July 6th. It's tip burn so I expect the plants will survive but I won't be cutting any of them back until summer's high temperatures are behind us. In my case, the problem may have been a combination of extreme dryness and heat as none of the plants were burnt in the horrific heatwave of 2016 when our temperatures hit 106F. I recommend extra water (and perhaps some temporary shade) for your plant in advance of the upcoming heatwave this week!
ReplyDeleteI read about your plants' sun burn with horror - although i'm hoping that the fact that we get a lot of sun normally, and it's in afternoon shade will help. I did take your advice and add a bit more shade, thank you!
DeleteSo glad you finally found 'Cousin Itt'. I didn't have any luck the first time around but I believe that back then plants that weren't ready for sale were rushed to market. What's being sold now seems to be of much better quality. I look forward to hearing how it'll fare in your garden.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to find here, and fingers crossed it will grow. Our crazy summer weather isn't helping.
DeleteI hope Cousin Itt thrives for you! That's a great feeling, isn't it, when you find a plant you've been longing for?
ReplyDeleteIt's the best! I love it when that happens...
DeleteLove cousin it! Glad your quest finally came to an end. Hope he does well where you planted him.
ReplyDeletewe shall see! I hope so too, although these heatwaves are not giving Itt a fair chance.
DeleteHaving killed 'Itt' four times now, still wish I could grow 'Itt'.
ReplyDeleteLike Kris I'd advise temporary shade and regular water until the summer is over.
temporary shade has been added... extra water Itt gets as i remember (so, probably not enough). fingers crossed!
DeleteYay! So glad you finally found it and grabbed one. I hope it thrives for you, but if it doesn’t remember, all good gardeners kill something three times before they give up.
ReplyDeleteThat's my rule too! although if it take me another 2 years to find one, that would be problem...
DeleteGood luck with "Itt"! And everything else, especially surviving this heat wave. Affecting us, too. "It" needs to go...
ReplyDeleteannoying heatwaves... and we don't even get the monsoons! Although the sky is looking a little grey right now (i'm sure it's just teasing us...)
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