River wattle (Bower wattle)

Acacia cognata

Elegant weeping eastern Australian wattle with fine narrow drooping phyllodes ("leaves") and small fluffy pale yellow ball flowers in spring. Compact cultivars (‘Cousin Itt’, ‘Limelight’) are now landscape mainstays.

Hardiness ratings

River wattle (Bower wattle) hardiness across the four zone systems
SystemRatingTemperature rangeHow to read it
USDA hardiness zone Zone 9–10 −6.7 °C to 4.4 °C Plant tolerates down to this zone
RHS hardiness rating H3 −5 °C to 1 °C Plant needs at least this level of cold tolerance
Canadian plant hardiness zone Zone 9 −1 °C and warmer Plant tolerates down to this zone
Australian (ANBG) zone Zone 3–6 −5 °C to 15 °C Plant tolerates down to this zone

Growing notes

  • Native to southeastern Australian forest gullies — natural in Victoria and southern NSW
  • Distinct from the wattles already in the database (golden, silver, black, blackwood) — river wattle has fine weeping foliage and a more delicate habit
  • Compact mounding cultivars are among the most planted Australian native ornamentals — ‘Cousin Itt’ stays under 1 m, ideal for low landscape massing
  • Nitrogen-fixing legume

Categories

Related plants

Cross-check River wattle (Bower wattle) against your zones

Reference

River wattle (Bower wattle) on Wikipedia