Originally, I purchased the seeds for these plants for friends Arliss and Mike to throw on a steep cliff next to their home in Parker, Arizona. The hope was for something that would grow easily and stabilize the erosion they were experiencing at the time.

Somehow, I never got around to giving them the seeds and now they have purchased a different home in Arizona that doesn’t require any erosion control. In addition, I’ve learned a lot more about accidentally introducing invasive species. So, I started the seed last January, instead, with the intention of keeping one or two as bonsai starts in the greenhouse.

Here is what the plants look like today:

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The interesting thing about these shrubs is that they started out with typical Acacia delicate foliage and now the adult leaves are very different–paddle-like and thick and sturdy.

Here are some photos through the year of these little shrublets:

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As with the Acacia baileyana “purpurea” seedlings, my goals with these plants for 2020 are to pot them up in half potting soil/half sand and feed them well to get them growing through spring/summer. I will move them outside to a sunny spot once the weather warms up.