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Acacia ‘Limelight’ is a well-known dwarf Acacia cognata. Being one the first true compact cognata forms to hit the market over ten years ago it has stood the test of time. It remains today a very popular choice for gardens across Australia.
Bred by renowned native plant gurus in South Australia, Native Plant Wholesalers, ‘Limelight’ evolved from a vision to introduce Australians to more compact native varieties with outstanding garden performance. They certainly succeeded with ‘Limelight’ now the plant of choice for a range of applications.
Jason Dawe & Phillip Dowling
You’ll find Native Plant Wholesalers behind many popular new varieties on the marketplace and their knowledge and expertise in breeding circles is well respected. Phillip and Jason who head the team are a wealth of knowledge in this sector of the industry and their award-winning wholesale nursery supplies many products across the southern states. They are often referred to as one of the industries ‘quiet achievers.’
You often see rows of ‘Limelight’ planted along drives and pathways, as it does so well to soften hard edges by lending its lush appearance to hard surfaces. It’s also stunning in large containers and ties in well with a wide variety of garden themes. You can use it to create contemporary looks, oriental-style themes or more rustic country styles.
Just hitting the market now is the latest offering from Native Plant Wholesalers. They have breathed new life into ‘Limelight’ and it is now available as a stunning grafted standard. Growing to approximately 1.2m in height these new stunners add a formal twist to the garden. For those seeking that touch of elegance but with the hardiness of a unique Australian native then this could well be the plant for you.
Looking great on either side of entrances and pathways or simply as a single garden feature, ‘Limelight’ standards certainly are a beautiful way to enjoy this Aussie favourite.
Where can I get me some of these please I am in Lalor Melbourne Aust.
I have never ruined a plant so fast (1 month!) in my life before. I purchased a grafted acacia limelight mid August 2014 from a garden centre. Innerwest Sydney then received 2.5 weeks of consistent rain so I decided not to water it for the next 1.5 weeks after which it very suddenly crashed. I contacted the garden centre and was told that it required daily watering all year if kept in a pot. I found this strange considering I have many non-native potted plants which I only water once a week and maybe twice during very hot spells and they are all thriving. So now this supposedly very hardy plant has dropped all of it’s beautiful foliage. I am watering daily now and trimmed it back a bit and the sticks were still green on the inside so I’m hoping it will eventually revive… however I’m not holding my breath.
Hi,
Native Plant Wholesalers are supplying Victorian retailers, so please give them a buzz and they’ll be happy to advise of a retailer near you who should have some in stock. http://www.nativeplantwholesalers.com.au
Thanks for your comments Arno. You raise an issue that I also feel strongly about.
All our plants are trialled extensively by our network of professional and dedicated producers. Our growers closely monitor plant performance in their local areas and provide valuable feedback as to a range of climatic conditions, soil types and responses to various weather patterns.
I would agree with you that ‘Limelight’ performs at its very best in the southern states, and we also recognise that the humidity in more northern regions does pose particular issues throughout the wet season.
I agree it is difficult to deliver a plant that meets the demands of all climatic zones across the country. By my statement of “a popular choice for gardens across the country” I simply refer to the wide distribution ‘Limelight’ does have across the country and has held for over 10 years.
We have made decisions in the past to discontinue plants in the northern regions if they are not performing under certain climatic conditions. The same also happens in reverse for those varieties not suited to the cooler conditions of the southern states.
I really appreciate your feedback Arno. GardenDrum is a great professional forum to have these discussions in.
I have to agree with Arno. Limelight and all the similar cultivars of Acacia cognata are sadly, no good for coastal areas of Sydney in my widespread observations. They don’t seem to cope with humidity at all. They seem to go backwards soon after planting; those I’ve seen survive longer become very prone to scale infestations that easily go unnoticed until the plants are too sick to save. It’s a shame as people love the look of them. Best substitute I’ve found here is Acacia fimbriata dwarf – similar bun shape but copes with humidity.
Anyone know the name of the rootstock that Acacia cognata grafted on in the picture above?
I would like to know this as well?
Jason at Native Plant Wholesalers tells me that their standard Acacia cognata ‘Limelight’ is grafted on to Acacia melanoxylon (Blackwood) understock, a very hardy and adaptable plant.
Hello, I would like to know where in the ACT I can purchase the grafted standards?
Hi – Tarrawood Native Nursery are the licensed supplier in the ACT. Please feel free to contact them direct on 02 6494 1850.
I’m in the hinterland of the Sunshine Coast and would like to give Acacia Limelight a go in my garden. Can you tell me which nurseries on the Sunshine Coast would stock it or can get it?
Hi Jill, the licensed supplier for QLD is Gondwana Nursery (02 6689 7544).
Feel free to get in touch with them and they can point you in the direction of a current stockist.
Will the standard accacia limelight grow in Townsville. And is there a supplier up here if so
Hi Helen,
It certainly sounds like your ‘Limelight’ is getting too much water. You are right when you presume that a soak once a week should be enough to keep it happy if it’s in a pot. I would stop the daily watering straight away.
Where is the southwest of WA can you purchase grafted acacia limelight?
Hi Robyn,
The licensed supplier for WA is Domus Nursery. Please give them a call on 9293 1768 and they will point you in the right direction.
Where can I buy Limelight in Tweed Heads or the Gold Coast
I live in Deloraine Tasmania and purchased 2 grafted limelights. They lasted for about a year and then all of a sudden lost all its leaves and went brown. My mother in law has cut them right back but I don’t like our chances of them coming back. I want to buy more but don’t want to pay $130 each again for them to die. Any suggestions? Thank you 🙂
Good afternoon, I live in Busselton, 2 hours south of Perth and would like to purchase 5 standard acacia lime lights. Would would be my closest retailer. Thank you
Hi there, just wondering if anyone has any knowledge about how the Acacia Limelight does in windy areas?
We live in Wellington, NZ, in an extra high wind zone. Have had quite a few gale force Nor’westers already this summer. Currently I have two Acacia limelights in a sheltered corner but thinking out of transplanting them to slightly more exposed area (running out space).
Are they good in the wind?
Hi Ken I too have an extreme coastal windy area in Victoria and am curious about Acacia Limelight … did you get any answers from anywhere on that question?
no not yet, but I will experiment as I have two of them and they are outgrowing the spot where I have them. Will let you know
please advise how to get the bumpy/mound effect when planting the non standard Acacia. Do I leave them in the pot or plant in the ground?I have a two tier front garden in coastal WA and hope they will look lumpy bumpy then trail over the wall? need help please 🙂
I have found variable success with acacia limelight in Perth. It is very susceptible to mealybug infestations which will kill the plant if picked up too late. I have had to spray all the limelights several times each summer for this problem.
Mealybugs aside, the plants are at best, finicky. In the same garden bed, you can have a dying plant with healthy thriving acacias on either side of it. Go figure.
Certainly not nearly as hardy as the marketing spin would lead you to believe.
JustaPlasticSurgeon… responding to your thoughts on Acacia cognata ‘Limelight’ and its performance in Perth. Ironcially, the mealybug issue is generally a result of the plant growing too well and the abundance of foliage becoming a damp thatch that the mealybug thrives in. This can be avoided with a heavy prune every year or two, enabling the canopy yo rejuvenate without the matting foliage. They respond incredible well to a hard prune in spring.
Hi My Standard Limelight is 3years old and has been growing beautifully
but now is going brown in the middle dropping its inner leaves almost as
though as if it is starting to die. Can I trim it back?
Hi Lianne,
Yes you can cut back your Limelight. The browning leaves can happen in older plants when the canopy gets crowded and excess water hangs around where the sun can’t penetrate, so thinning this out is a good idea.
You can, in fact, cut the whole lot back to the framework branches as Limelight will happily regenerate from bare branches up to and inch or two thick and now is a good time to do this if you are in a frost free area (wait until spring if you get heavy winter frosts).
Regards,
Tim Sansom
My standard Limelight is two years old and has also been growing well however it is now going brown. What do I do? I live in Adelaide SA. Thanks Rosemary
Hi Rosemary, Plants Management Australia distribute this plant in Australia. They have lots of useful information on their website. Best Karen
Hello Amanda
I was interested to see your comment regarding Acacia cognata being ‘a very popular choice for gardens across Australia’. I believe many millions of this species have been planted in northern Australia, but few have survived through one of our summer ‘wets’ up here (and the greater part of Australia has summer dominant rainfall). I have yet to see any Acacia cognata cultivars thriving (or surviving) in South East Queensland – however I have heard of many, many cases where the plant has failed. I also understand that the shrub is sensitive to salts and alkalinity and has not performed too well in inland areas.
This is a great pity as it is such a beautiful looking plant. The best plants I have seen are in Victoria and South Australia. I suspect that like many plants from southern Australia, it needs cooler wetter winters and dry summers – which limits it to coastal areas towards the southern end of the country.
I guess we need to take care suggesting any plant will do well across Australia. Very few, if any, will. Australia is such a large country with so many varied climate types.
Unfortunately gardeners in the northern part of Australia are very sensitive regarding this issue – as we end up wasting a lot of money on dead plants! Ultimately there is a need to test plants thoroughly to ensure we provide customers with correct information and so that they can trust nursery and media recommendations.