Mimosa

~ By Jus Kuntree ~

I just love Mimosa trees. To me they always look so pretty, particularly when covered in those delicate looking pink blooms. They have a bit of an almost fernlike foliage, which makes a beautiful backdrop to it's blossoms.

Mimosa are deciduous trees, they grow quickly, and quite often you'll find little seedlings popping up from dropped seed pods. On the downside, they do harbor some pests and diseases, such as webworms and vascular wilt.

Although they can get very large, up to 25 feet high, with a spread of up to 35 feet, I have one that came up volunteer that I keep pruned back, and does quite well. These trees do not have a long life span, and often are gone in 10 years or so, but they may live on to a good 20 years. So if you want to keep them around, it's not such a bad idea to keep replanting seedlings, or let some of those little volunteer ones grow where they're at, as long as they're not going to be an interference with something else. You can even find cultivars with varying shades of pink, and one that is white.

The bark of the tree can easily be damaged, and in addition, the limbs themselves can be quite brittle. Finding some broken limbs following a hefty windstorm is not uncommon.

Mimosa love the sun, so when planting one, choose a spot where they'll get plentiful sunshine. They're very tolerant of a wide variety of soils, and are quite drought resistant. So, there are advanatages, and disadvantages to these trees, but for me, I hope I always have some around.

         

All ideas, concepts, and content including text, content and graphics are owned by
The Garden of Friendship and its members unless otherwise noted and should not be
taken or duplicated without expressed written consent. © 2000 and beyond.
The Garden of Friendship