Plant in full sun to part shade in a well-drained or mounded soil. Water regularly at first but once established it will require only occasional to infrequent irrigation in coastal gardens. The most problems we have seen with this plant have been from planting in heavy non-draining soils and in these situations the plant needs to be planted on a mound and irrigation closely monitored. Much literature suggests this plant hardy to 15°F but we have observed tip damage on this cultivar on nights that have dropped only a few degrees below freezing and think likely its ultimate hardiness should be listed at no higher than 20-25° F. We have also seen damage below these temperatures with the species Acacia cognota, which we also grow. Though this tip damage might not be as damaging as it is to the tree form, we think that this plant is best planted in southern California or along the coast and not in colder northern California inland areas. In the UC Davis Landscape Plant Irrigation Trials, where this plant otherwise performed well at the low irrigation level of 20% Eto, it was noted not to survive the Davis winter temperatures and they recommended that it not be considered a suitable plant at their Sunset Zone 14 location without some protection. When growing in a container, fertilize with a low or coated phosphorus product - though there is not good literature indicating this species is sensitive to phosphorus, many other Australian plants, including some Acacia, are and so it would be best to avoid fertilizing with it if possible. This plant gets pretty wide but does respond well to a light tip-pruning, though this seems to encourage it to grow taller and in constrained plantings where pruning is required it has been reported to get to 6 feet tall. This is a great plant for informal mounding along a dry steam bed, rock garden, tumbling down a slope or as a large potted specimen.

This selection is a compact seedling selection made in 2000 by Peter Goldup of Goldup Nursery in Mt Evelyn, Victoria, Australia from a batch of seedlings of Acacia cognata with the seed parent characterized as a typically tall plant. It was first marketed in Australia by Bush Magik Plants (a cooperative venture between Goldup Nursery and Bushland Flora) as Acacia cognata 'Mini Cog' and was introduced by Ball Ornamental Plants in 2010 in the US under the marketing name "Cousin Itt". In December 2014, four years after its introduction in the US, this plant received a US Plant patent under the cultivar name 'ACCOG01'.

We have been growing this very popular plant since it was first released in 2010 and have an amazing specimen of it planted in 2009 in a large elevated cement pot in our sales parking lot that has stems that rise 2 feet above the pot's soil level that then trail down 5 feet to the ground and another large specimen in the nursery garden that is 30 inches tall by 12 feet wide. We also grow the full sized Acacia cognota. This plant has become so popular that on May 28, 2019 it made it onto the popular quiz show Jeopardy. When the selection was made from the category "In The Backyard" for $1,200, a picture of Cousin Itt was shown and host Alex Trebek asked the question: "A good choice for water thrifty gardeners is Acacia cognota. Also known as this, after a relative of the Addams Family." The record setting champion James Holzhauer answered this correctly as "What is Cousin Itt'". 

The information about Acacia cognata Cousin Itt ['ACCOG01'] PP25,133 displayed on this web page is based on our research conducted in the nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also include observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing this plant.