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[LIBERTYNY]

 Do Acacia Acuminata go dormant in the winter ? ?  or Acacia's in general ? ?

 In thinking of growing Acacia Acuminata in zone 7 and just putting it in my basement for the winter.

 Think it will work  ?

[Auxin]

They can go into a reduced growth phase. They will still need light and some water, no ferts.
For light a couple daylight spectrum CFL's seem to do well.

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[LIBERTYNY]

Do they lose the foliage for the winter ?

 Think I will try regardless.

[AcaciaAve]

Acacias are generally non-deciduous.
CFL or HPS light will get your lovely baby through.
Small investment=big happy tree

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[LIBERTYNY]

Acacias are generally non-deciduous.
CFL or HPS light will get your lovely baby through.
Small investment=big happy tree

Useing cfl's might be a deal breaker for me, electric in south Ny is EXPENSIVE

Anybody have any experiance growing them outdoors around zone 7/8

[AcaciaAve]

How old is your plant?
They may have a chance of being established in zone 7 if you overwinter them inside for the first year.
The only Acacias still standing outside in winter for me are Acacia Melanoxylon and A. Victoriae. Acacia Podalyriaefolia sorta holding on...

[LIBERTYNY]

 No plants yet just gearing up for next year

The plan is to grow a few, put inside for the winter for 2-3 years, and then slowly try to acclimate a few to the winter. I have a decent micro-climate area where I have a brown turkey fig doing well.

  mayabe half way burry them in leaves durring the winter . . .

 

[mj]

No plants yet just gearing up for next year

The plan is to grow a few, put inside for the winter for 2-3 years, and then slowly try to acclimate a few to the winter. I have a decent micro-climate area where I have a brown turkey fig doing well.

  mayabe half way burry them in leaves durring the winter . . .

 

You might consider building a four sided box of 2 inch thick construction Styrofoam which could be a couple feet deep around where the plant will be (open bottom) and this could have its top edge below the ground surface so others don't know it is there then in the fall you can augment this with a wide diametre ground cover of the same insulation pinned down to the ground to trap surface heat around your roots. Simple and effective and cheap to do. Best regards mj.

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[LIBERTYNY]

No plants yet just gearing up for next year

The plan is to grow a few, put inside for the winter for 2-3 years, and then slowly try to acclimate a few to the winter. I have a decent micro-climate area where I have a brown turkey fig doing well.

  mayabe half way burry them in leaves durring the winter . . .

 

You might consider building a four sided box of 2 inch thick construction Styrofoam whic could be a couple feet deep around where the plant will be (open bottom) and this could have its top edge below the ground surface so others don't know it is there then inthe fall you can augment this with a wide diametre ground cove of the same insulation pinned down to the ground to trap surface heat around your roots. Simple and effective and cheap to do. Best regards mj.

  I think I will likely try a variation of this, droping the earth down mayable 2 coarses of 8" block , and filling the void with leaves as inslation in the winter. As well as pilling leaf bags around the rest as a little more protection 

 But I likely have 2 years yet to think about it anyway

[LIBERTYNY]

If you're planning on over-wintering them the first 2-3 years, they'll likely be strong enough to take a cold season then.
My personal rule with Acacias is to overwinter them inside for 1-2 years then plant them out and then the survival of the fittest regime begins.
Some however only need 1 year inside through the cold season.
I see Acuminata and Longifolia being the best high-alkaloid-phyllode Acacias for those in cold climates.
They at least can take prolonged periods of 20-30 degrees in California where I've studied their growth habits.
I know of there being a "small-seed" and a "narrow-leaf" variety of Acuminata.
There is an Acacia grove at the UC Davis arboretum which has 3 varieties of Acuminata. All 5-10+ years of age.
The two mentioned above and apparently a "normal" version they just call "Raspberry Jam". The nexus refers to it as the "wide-leaf" or "typical variant".
It is my theory that the regular "Raspberry Jam" and the "Narrow leaf" varieties will perform best, based on observations and personal experience.
Also, subsp. Burkittii does fine for me though grows slower.

Your plan to half-way bury them may work. To encourage a sturdier base, you can cut the plants back down to 1 foot or so and they'll spring back in the warm season. This doesn't always prove legit but if you have multiple plants to experiment with, it would pay off if the plants decide to re-sprout new foliage. This is what many temperate zone nurseries do to prepare sturdy Acacia seedlings to sell.
Clipping and maintaining the shrub will emphasize a strong and woody base. Phyllode harvesting is a win-win situation for plant and gardener.
Maybe Frog Pajamas or some of the other temperate-zone entheogen farmers will have some tips for getting a strong winter-hardy Acuminata...

 A grove in sacramento does not encourage me at all  . . .

 Winters hear zone 7/8 are highly variable, last year day time highs were in the upper teens with single digits at night for about 2 weeks. Not the norm thow.

 Quess i will just have to play,  But It would be nice if they did grow back from a stump in the spring, that way I could just grow in a container and bring it inside for the winter.

[Auxin]

Useing cfl's might be a deal breaker for me, electric in south Ny is EXPENSIVE

Ouch, I did the math. If your paying 18 cents per kWh, just a 10 watt CFL run 12 hours a day for 6 months would cost $39. Could you keep them by a window?

If you do try keeping them outside build a cone of leaves and sticks over the base of the plant to improve the chance of the base surviving. That works with my heimias.
Expect them to die.... and tell us if they dont 

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[mj]

LED lamps do cost much more but they are a much better long term investment as they last a lot longer than CFL's do and they start saving a significant amount more than CFL's do immediately. Might be worth looking into if you can augment with window light as suggested that can reduce your power draw over the day even further. Best regards mj.