Mimosa pruning and shaping

Thanks in advance for responses. I have been blessed with many little mimosa sprouts to saplings that self germinated from the pods of my original tree. I am wanting to encourage their healthy growth (zone 9a) through our winter and also to learn to shape them for asthetics. I really like the multiple trunk shape but have not learned how to achieve that. I also don't want to be beating up my plants in uneducated attempts. I continue to collect seed pods that are still dropping for sowing after the last frost here and selecting placement on my 2 acres that may be more ideal (than a few feet in front of my house). I have a hope to be able to create a mimosa canopy in the shady woods surrounding my driveway even though that may be a multi-year project.
Any pruning and shaping help as well as any mimosa education in general is much appreciated. I love these beautiful plants!

Sorry for leaving out this detail: they are albizia julibissins.

mimosas really are beautiful plants, they lend such a nice airy tropical look with their form and unique leaves. and the bonus is their spectacular bloom, it makes them look like pink clouds in the sunset. thats a great idea you have, i can imagine having a nice shady mimosa lined drive with that umbrella like canopy they have. --- mimosas naturally branch in that way you want, the multiple trunks. most likely you wont have to prune them to achieve the look. and with our good growing conditions here, you will be able to see if theres any growth you dont like and snip it out. plants recover quickly here. generally, with trees, you wait for a strong leader to grow, then you can cut the top and you should get side branching. ---hope this helps. im in 9b of central fl.

Thanks for your input! I have really come to love these plants.
Maybe because I have a decent amount of shaded area on my property all of the mimosa plants I have growing here having single trunk formations with much smaller limbs off the sides.The first small tree I didn't prune at all and it has grown toward the sunlight toward the afternoon sun. Its shape is lovely in an arch. The offspring-plants from this mimosa are also trying to grow toward the sun. I have been cutting back the new top growth just where they are trying to shoot new leaves upward in hopes to get thicker trunks and multiple trunks.It is puzzling to me that--if the multi-trunk shape is most usual--that mine are growing single-trunk.
Is it still safe for the plants to be cutting them back at this point in the season? Growth has slowed but not stopped and I still have new sprouts coming up. I have a ton of pods to sow in the spring too. The original tree is weather hardy and despite loosing its foliage it does well through the winters. Are the smaller saplings safe from the winter in our area?
Again thank you for responding. It's fun to have someone in the area to share with!

yes it is, florida gardening is quite iffy sometimes, now we can share about any freezes (if they should happen) this winter. --- um, im thinking if you prune now it wont recover/produce growth very fast. the smaller trees should be hardy, mimosas grow in new york where im from. but you could try cutting them back maybe before december and it should come back the way crape myrtles do in spring. and if you are dealing with crape myrtles, maybe try cutting them at the same time. im just growing slightly hesitant for you to cut them! --

http://www.midwestgardentips.com/pruning_specific_tree_varietie.html - scroll down a little and theres a small thing where mimosa is, they advise against major pruning. :/

Thanks for the link. I am going to follow your advice and let them do their own thing...
In the spring I will sow the other pods. Perhaps based on location (amount of accessible sunlight) the trees will shape themselves in the multi-branch form.
I am going to get out there and take some pictures to post. I sure hope we have a gentler winter this year than last year!
Thanks again!

oh yes agreed! i think here was about 5-6 nights with a freeze/frost last year. i lost all but one of my 4 baby crotons because i failed to provide the cover they needed every time- although in other yards, they went uncoverd an survived -_-
i think its a combination of laziness and hopelessness that stops me from covering my plants :p. but this year i will defintely cover. i have a foxtail palm i planted august, so itll need some love. - did anything unexpected survive (from last winter) in your garden?

I am always upset when the winter kills my plants! Last year I went out after a frost and it looked like someone had come with a weed wacker in the middle of the night.
(This is one of the reasons I am so concerned about the baby mimosas that are growing here now).
Please understand that I am a complete novice with gardening and that I have more plants than knowlege about them, including the names of what I have growing.
I have a persian lime that survived uncovered, the mimosa that started this whole thing survived fine, the palms did great. I lost a ceiba pentandra that I had for over 10 years (I was crushed!).
Most of my planting and learning about plants has come this season. I turned over the earth in preparation to plant and that is what started the mimosas sprouting like crazy. I think I became charmed by that and continued to plant this spring based upon likes and intuition: gardenia, bouganvillea, the coral plant (I learned here it is jatropha multifida), and assorted others that I don't yet know the names for. Prior to this year the only plants I have intentionally cultivated are succulents (semper vivens) and roses and flowering tubers. Anytime I visit a friends home and see plants I like I request cuttings. That has resulted in an odd mix of awesome new plants. I also have 2 little avocado tree-lets growing from seeds I tossed outside. If it can grow I put it outside. Often times things do grow like that for me and then I have to figure out what they are and what to do about them! "Novice" would be kind to describe my state.

This is the trunk of the original mimosa and one of the tiniest shoots right in front of the trunk. I counted today and I have 45-50 new mimosas anywhere from 1 inch high to a foot tall.

Well I tried to post more pictures but it didn't work. Patience is a virtue I guess :)

lol i like your attitude as a gardener. its nice that you learn as you go and dont give up-thats like my saying for going to high school lol. and hey it sounds like you have quite the green thumb. and you seem to have a bountiful yard too.
patience, yes.its hard to stay patient sometimes, but plants help teach us to be patient.
Yes! i hate the feeling of the morning you wake up after a cold night. you rush to look out the window-its usually less painful if you look out the window- and then you see plants brown, dried, wilted, discolored..and the list goes on.
the mimosa looks nice, very healthy. it would be nice if they flowerd at a shorter/younger size. then your yard would probably be a mimosa blooming factory :p

Thanks. I found gardening by way of fun. I love nurturing all things and patiently the many plants in my environment waited for me to realize how much fun they are...it's really like they planted me...sowed the seeds of gardening inside me and waited for me to blossom. My life led me in a direction where I spend most of my time in and around my home and there is no lack of stimulation here, it's very wooded beautiful and there is some of everything growing.
I do realize I have a green thumb too, or I have had it since I woke up to the wonder of plants. It's funny that I have had more "luck" by allowing rather than forcing the plants to grow and then working with what I get.
Now I definitely have huge fits of impatience. With my mimosa adventure I go out daily and use magnifying glasses to study for new points of growth! (talk about a watch-pot). My goal with the many sweet mimsoa babies is just what you said, to encourage them to grow in such a way that they bloom lower and more spread out. The parent tree (original mimosa here) has some blooms at window level but has outgrown my roof for the most part. The branch that is at window level is amazing to watch as the hummingbirds come to feed right outside the window. That is how I hope these baby trees will shape themselves. That's why I have been pinching back the very top sprout so the trunks will thicken and the trees will mature lower. I hope that makes sense, though I fear it won't :)
I notice on the ones I am doing this with that the place where the leaf/new branch attaches to the trunk has a bulbous thickening as if --because of the pinching back at the top--the leaves are being encouraged to thicken into branches (?) This is all observation and guesswork so please do let me know if I am not making sense or getting things wrong.
I took lots of pictures today of the various sizes (I think the tallest is 2 1/2 feet and the smallest is 1 inch) baby trees I have.
What do you have growing that you are concerned about this winter? Do you have any mimosa? (I certainly have enough to share!)

another picture

I have started a semi circle of mimosa around Mary, hoping they will grow thick and low, blooming around her.

i dont have any mimosas. its very kind of you to offer to share, but i dont want a new tree in my yard. i have two big live oaks, plus lots of shrubs. i would have a jungle with a mimosa-mostly because they self seed so readily. i appreciate your offer though! :)
wow your yard seems to be quite natural. i see one of the native palms growing there, and some ferns. its very native friendly. and thats very creative of you(the mimosa around the statue of Mary). the colors will contrast nicely.
i think youre doing everything correctly, and the plants in the pictures look healthy. so continue taking care of them the way you do. and yes i understood what you were saying :p
well this year, im worried about my foxtail palm (like i said before). its zoned for 10 and warmer, but there are many growing here that are already old enough to tolerate cold snaps. so im hoping to pull through this winter, and it should be fine from then. - other than that, im somewhat worried about my pentas and florida black flamingos. the rest should be ok.
its supposed to get chilly tonight, about 54 degrees, how about by you?

It's been in the 50's here for a couple of weeks. That's yet another thing I have to learn: what temperature is the bottom line for bringing things inside...
Last year I filled up my whole bathtub with plants I had potted so they could survive the winter.
I have been looking up the plants you are mentioning (because I am clueless). I have been paranoid enough about the cold spells that I started putting a few plants in pots in october, trying not to shock them I placed them in the same places they live outside. I have been bringing them in and out to ease into indoor living for the short winter.
I just found out that the name of one of my favorite succulents is kalanchoe pinnata. That is a plant that had a terrible time last winter outside and has taken all year to build up again from surviving leaves. Happily I am growing as many in pots as outdoors to prevent last years disaster.
I am going to cover as many plants as possible. I just have tomake sure I follow the forcasts better.
I will do a search to learbn what are pentas and black flamingos!

WoW! I just searched for your plants and they are beautiful! I might have a fit if they were outdoors in the winters. I can't wait to find out what you will do. :)

yeah it is a good idea to get the plants used to the indoors. lol, im picturing a bathtub with plants. in the afternoon on the night of cold weather, i rush to get everything safe. so i just dump whatever is in pots in my garage. it isnt very nice but i dont have another option. But! theres a new method i plan on trying. -- first you cut milk bottles in half, then paint them black. fill them with water and put them between your plants in the morning. they absorb heat and release it at night-- i dont plan on cutting and painting. extra conntainers should do. the black just helps absorb heat.
thank you! (about the plants) congrats on your kalanchoe also. i had a bed of another kind, kalanchoe blossen..blossefeld...blossenfidn...yeah that one Lol. the thing is they look perfect in the store, then you plant them and they die when it gets around freezing,, for me at least. they did come back but died b4 summer.

oh yeah. im not so good with ''when to prtect what'' either. its different for nearly every plant. but you can group them by characteristics and treat them as a group. with me: i cover the definite tropicals, foliage/flowering etc only when it goes below 32. i almost ignore the winter annuals, pansies etc. and theres a few that are said to be affected from below 40. ive never noticed anything like that but its possible.

it sounds like i have tons of florida gardening experience....but i only have last year and this year :D but no need to worry, i learned A LOT but theres still so much more. and you can still trust my word, unless i say im hesitant... :)

Here where I live there is no garage...there's an outdoors and then there's an indoors. I also grab plants and plonk them wherever when the moment calls for it. But my cats think that's an invitation to dig and do unknown things leaving a big mess. I went with the bathtub idea out of necessity (and I have another bathtub so I just locked my cats out of that bathroom).
I was born near miami so I have tropical-brain. That is what I have to get used to up here because despite the warm weather the winters cause lots of damage.
I have never even thought one Could buy kalanchoe (?) I know the plant as "siempre viva" (always alive) because members of my family pass the leaves to each other and I have always just "known" how to get new plants from leaves. (I thought it was a weed and never saw it commercially)
The wonderful thing about where I live is that it is 2 1/2 acres of almost all woods. I insisted that the only clearing be the bare minimum for necessity and I walked the property and selected trees that could not be taken down, then placed the house (mobile home) based on the tress that had to stay up. It is very easy to garden when I moved the house onto the garden. I have pines, various kinds of palms, oaks, ferns,tubers...all without any effort from me. It's hard to improve on that. The plants that I choose to bring here now all have some sort of special meaning to me.Or they are ones that adopt me...(like the mimosa bonanza). It's not highly technological or advanced but it works for me that way.

mhm i see. i would love it if the homedepot had cabbage palms for sale. i always want to make up for the lack of palms in my yard. there are lots of hibiscus and other plants.---- i actually dont think they sell the kind of kalanchoe youre talking about, in stores. the other one i had, they do sell in the store because of the impressive flowers. the red ones are very festive and you might see them for christmas . they have yellow, pink, white, orange and ones with variegated leaves, but i prefer the vibrant red. thats why i was ruined when i looked outside after the cold and saw the flowers melted to nothing. - and i didnt know you could grow kalanchoe from the leaves. if you dont mind, can you tell me how to go about doing that? this way i can save them during the holidays.

I'll definately look around for the kalanchoe that you're describing. It would be awesome to have various kinds/colors growing together (but that leads back to the winter issue...)
To get new plants from leaves I snap off a fat leaf where it connects to the stalk (it will work with any size leaf really) and set it in a dish of water. As soon as tiny sprouts or roots come up or down from the leaf--they come from the indentation in the leaf--I take the leaf and place it on very moist soil. The plant will take it from there.
Some people cut the leaf into pieces to separate the new sprouts into several plants. I just let them all grow together. When my plants get big enough they drop leaves and the process just goes forward from there. I had a large area where they self propagated and flowered. That was until last winter so I started fresh this year but I've kept enough of them in pots that I will not have to start again next spring. Now I just have to figure out how to create a large enough container or containers that I can move.
By cabbage palm are you meaning the ones I have here that are very low to the ground?

Oh and I panicked today thinking it was getting cold and I brought several more of the mimosas inside. Do you know what is the minimum temperature they need if they are outside?

lol it was pretty chilly! they really dont need to be protected. unless you want to save the leaves on the plants, then i guess before it gets to 32 degrees i would protect. they drop their leaves every year, naturally, dont they? because i know they drop leaves like other trees in fall in new york.
thanks so much for the kalanchoe tips. im defintely going to try that.
and im not sure if the ones are cabbage palms. i think they are the other kind of cabbage palm that doesnt grow a trunk. i meant the ones you see everywhere, the state tree. theres other names: sabal palm, palmetto, cabbage palmetto etc. they have the rounded crown shape, and have the leaf bases attached to the trunk until they get tall. you might see the transplanted ones, like along the highway, with the leaves cut off.

I do believe that mimosas drop their leaves in winter. I just worry about the tiny trees--they're not much beside leaves!
I think I am having tree PTSD...lol
The ceiba I lost last year meant a lot to me. There was a delicate balance between dropping leaves and dropping dead and unfortunately for me and that tree it became unbalanced. I continue to be tempted to get another ceiba but I am not ready yet.
I will just have to wait and see how each size mimosa does in what conditions. It is impractical to transplant all of them of course. I have approx 10 of them inside now, varying sizes etc. I am feeling like I'm wanting to do some curious shaping and pruning with them. I also have one outside that started growing in a very unusual shape and I have begun to encourage it to shape more extremely (you'd laugh but I am using RR ties and ribbon). If it gets through the winter it will be an amazing tree to work with in the spring.
Let me know how you do with the kalanachoe leaves. It's a fun process!

BTW if you don't find kalanchoe leaves I'd be happy to send you some to start with. I just wrap themin wet paper towel and put it all in a ziplock. Sometimes they have started growing before the recipient gets the package...

oops! i guess i hadnt clicked send after i typed my reply! thats a long time ago :p
well last night and today are pretty cool. last night was actually cold.
i still need to sow seeds, but i keep putting it off. just the idea of dealing with all the weeds is killing me.
once i get a leaf to work with i will let you know. dont take it personally, but i prefer to try it from the start by myself, because it would be my first time trying it. i like trying things independently at first. :)
anything blooming in your garden?

I know you'll have success with the leaves! I understand what you mean about wanting to create independently...I'm sort of that way too. Let me know how it goes!
I don't mean to ask a ditsy question but is this the time to sow? I thought it would be right after the last frost.
I have a bunch of flowers that I think are columbine flowerng.I saw a different name though on one of the id forums. Other than that I am busily caring for the plants I have and transplanting some to pots while allowing them to stay in place as it gets cooler.
It was 41 degrees last night here. I woke up and first think looked out the windows and I was relieved that all of my little plant buddies were fine.

i will. 41!? thats pretty cold, for now at least.
dont worry thats a good question. here you can sow only hardy annuals now, you have to give them time to ''harden off'' before the first frost. usually i buy the plants but this time i want to try seeds. and besides, some flowers arent sold in the nursery already grown. ex: poppies, sweet peas, calendula. so you can try sowing some now, if thats what you were interested in doing.?

Truly I am not sure about what I'm interested in doing...I come at this seeing trees or plants that I like and then attempt to contrive my universe to suit them. I have some odd wishes in terms of growing but not enough knowledge to make much sense of how to do what I am seeing in my mind.
I would love to try growing a Royal P from the seeds I have. I love flowering trees. I have been collecting to mimosa pods and bringing them inside because despite it being fall,the pods that fall to the ground are sprouting (not that I mind but when it gets cold they'll have a problem). I wish iother seeds were willing to sprout for me so well!

mhm, flowering trees are stunning. did you ever see a jacaranda?

I just looked it up in the plant file link! It is gorgeous! I have a feeling that with my taste in trees I may have to move much further south :)
That being said I also would like to get to know some more of the native species in my zone. I have a tendency toward tropical plants and trees whose natural habitat is several zones south. While that provides an interesting challenge, it doesn't always turn out well. Might you have any suggestions for plants/shrubs/trees especially flowering ones, that could enjoy growing in my area?

yeah i know the feeling. i would lovee to grow a coconut tree. i was planning on looking for a jacaranda, but they get to be quite big. imagine:mimosa, red poinciana, yellow poinciana, jacaranda = pink, red, yellow, purple.
i can make suggestions but as far as natives, im not sure if i know any flowering ones. remember many plants become naturalized and mix in with the natives over time, so it could be hard to tell.
crape myrtles, almost a must have. they come in three distinct growing sizes that can be broken into subgroups. - magnolias, southern magnolia is native and can get huge. - azaleas, there are some native kinds but the hot pink cultivars are more common. - jasmine, gardenia, hibiscus, tibouchina, knockout rose, citrus have lovely flowers, i think beautyberry is native.
theres so much more! those are what i can think of off the top of my head.

Thanks! I am a bit overwhelmed. It's a good thing that I will wait to near the end of the winter to look for the right plants to bring home. (Is that the right time?) I love magnolias. I don't mind at all if it gets big.I have a small gardenia now which is beautiful. I have a few cuttings also from that plant that are trying to/started to root.
I've seen the crape myrtles with pale pink flowers that grow near me. I'd love to plant one or two of those.
I'm going to do lots of research this winter! It's awesome to have people who live nearby that have knowledge and experience to share. Thanks so much for all of your recommendations.

In warmer climates like yours, this time of year is often a great time to plant things because it gives plants a chance to settle in and get their roots going really wellbefore hot summer weather shows up. For things that are going to be really borderline on hardiness I'd wait until spring since newly planted things can be more susceptible to cold damage. But for things that are reliably hardy in your area like the crape myrtles fall can be a great time to plant. I typically do all my planting in Nov & Dec...although in our area we also have the added benefit that winter is the only time it rains so it's extra incentive to get things in the ground so they can take advantage of that.

Well it seems like I'll be doing lots of research and selecting...I plan to use the plant files link here as well as googling for study.
I need to learn how to select the plants I want for good health. I almost got a magnolia last year but the seller told me she would not buy it. Hmm. My tendency to rescue all that is ailing kicked in but I managed to resist thinking if I didn't know hoe to tend to a healthy tree I would not do the ailing tree any good.
My bouganvillea are starting to get stringy searching for sun...I am pinching back the buds and getting lots of lateral growth.
It's difficult to visualize how the plants/trees/shrubs will all look together. I am cruising the beginner landscaping forum for guidance too.

yeye no problem. ooh i forgot to tell you. if you go to the nursery now they should have camellias. they start blooming soon, until spring. i look forward to sharing with you and hearing whats going on with your garden :)
ecrane, wow rain in winter sounds so...different - i know about snow from my native state with occasional rain. and sometimes it rains in winter here but it just seems like you guys on the west coast are on a different continent! lol.

I'll check out the camellias. Thanks!
On a smaller plant I would love to have a couple of hydrangeas. My grandmother had them when I was a child and they remind me of her.
I want to find some plants that like mostly shade since the area around "Mary's island" (statue of Mary pictured above) gets less sun than the rest of my yard.
I am enjoying the research and I hope the new plants enjoy being here.

oh ok, hydrangeas are very nice. caladiums do great in shady areas, excpet that they are corms, so if you want only shrubs, then caladiums wouldnt fit in. impatiens are wonderful for shade, theyre pretty much the only reliable annual/long lived annual that will bloom in shade.-
i planted my pentas and im hoping they do well later. im thinking of moving one a little. its in front of some yellow schleffera so that the red flowers can contrast sharply with the yellow.

Hi coastal, I will also look at the camellias. I only meant that I've had the plan to have hydrangeas for a while now. It was sort of a t ream of consciousness comment (nicer than saying I am ditsy I guess).
I have been reaserching the idea I have had about tree shaping and finally found a wikpedia article that addresses the weird ideas I've had (althought his article describes something much more sophisaticated than I have "seen" in my head). I have started pushing and pulling the little mimosa in shapes. I knew that there had to be a name or practice that fit this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_shaping