Acacia, Bailey's Purple Acacia, Cootamundra Wattle, Purple Fern Leaf Acacia 'Purpurea'

Here in southern CAlifornia this is thankfully not an invasive species... it is pretty slow growing in our dry summers, but drought toler...Read Moreant. I have never seen one taller than 20' and that was exceptional. THey tend to be neat, tidy trees and, if pruned regularly, make excellent landscaping trees. The color is unique.. and NO thorns (great, for an acacia!). As for hardiness, it certainly is more cold hardy than zone 10b, as these grow all over southern California in many zone 10as and I had one in Thousand Oaks, a decidedly zone 9b without any frost damage than I can recall (got down to 26 over night frequently)

On the negative side, this is a sticky tree... anything you plant below it will get covered with a fine layer of sticky goo (pollen and saps) that will then attract ants and worse. I have one planted in a planter box in my yard and below it are dozens of goo-covered succulents that I am constantly trying to clean off and remove the parasites attracted by the goo. Good tree for landscaping, but a bad tree to put stuff under.

This plant is rather unfashionable in Australia as it is quite invasive outside its own region. It is a lovely acacia. My father-in -law ...Read Morehad one in Southern Tasmania that was snowed on fairly regularly and showed no harm. A bigger threat seems to be a warm wet Summer where growth is so fast the tree breaks under the additional weight. He pruned severely in Summer, and lost the tree the year he forgot.

An evergreen, fast growing cultivar, small tree or large shrub.

Has very showy, purple overlayed with grey/silver, 2 pinna...Read Morete leaves. Bears bright gold, spherical flowerheads in late winter to spring.

It's not particularly hardy and there is a lot of conflicting information as to just how low a temperature it will stand. Personally I'm hedging my bets and bringing it in over winter.

Grow in a well-drained sheltered site, protect from frost and cold winds.