Silk Tree, Mimosa Tree, Pink Siris (Albizia julibrissin)

Silk Tree, Mimosa Tree, Pink Siris
Albizia julibrissin

With the last few sun rays.

Nice pictures. I have this tree. Planted it from seed from a tree at my alma mater....Loma Linda University. Had one in Shafter, California, too. There are trees like it all over my neighborhood in Oak View, California. Some of them have a deeper pink color. Am wondering why mine is so light in color.

That is soooo beautiful!
:)

I have just purchased one of these ex. tree's ( shrub ) any tip's about overwintering? I come from Scotland so remember the quaint? weather. THANKS.

Masterful photography, aking!

what zip code will this tree grow in

I know this tree will grow in Dallas, where they have hard freezes, not sure about which other zip codes or zones it grows in. But it can survive a hard freeze if you cover it. I do not think I have ever seen one freeze to death. I don't know what would happen if the ground froze for a week, though. That does not happen here. But in Texas, it just drops its leaves and comes back in the spring. It puts leaves on late, like pecans and crape myrtles do, so do not assume that it is dead if it is slow to leaf out.

It grows very well here in SW France. We have a baby about 4' tall and no flowers yet, but there are loads of mature trees - (yes definitely TREES not shrubs here prowler :) in the area flowering their heads off at the moment. SO pretty - and scented I believe.

I seem to see different shades of pink here Opoetree, though that may just be different stages of flower.

Beautiful picture. I live in Zone 9, zip code 94305. We have two old trees in our yard. They are about 25 feet tall and as wide. But if you are thinking of planting them, think twice. First the really good stuff. They are really beautiful, they grow quickly, they require minimal pruning, they bloom sort of late in the season after the bearded iris have finished. In fact mine are still blooming, HOWEVER, they are messy, messy messy. They drop something all year long. First it is flowers, then, very quickly it is weeding because they are very quick and enthusiastic about sprouting. Not hard to weed, but you can get a little forest fast. Then they drop long pods and then in the fall the leaves. Do not place them too close to a house or you will be cleaning out your gutters a lot.

On the other hand, mine shade a very hot western wall of my house and they have dropped the temperature in those rooms about 15 degrees. Everything has it's pluses and minuses. When it's raining and my husband has to get up on the roof to clean out gutters again though, well, you get the idea.

Oh, and once established they like to be pretty dry. Don't overwater them or they will lose fullness.

Confused yet? If you love them, then plant them! With all of the above, I'm glad I have them. The HUMMINGBIRDS love them even when they are not flowering.

I love the shape and flowers of this tree, wonderful scent. From there it goes downhill. VERY aggresive in my 7a zone. It looks like it is hardy from 6a to 10b. I had decided NOT to plant this in my yard on purpose because it is so invasive. I'll just let the neighbor keep it in his yard. And doss is correct, it drops something all summer long.

In aromatherapy the scent is known to have a calming affect upon anxiety. To the person in the south of France, yes, it is definitely a tree in Texas, too.

I have never really understood why anyone would be upset about a tree dropping something, unless the something was wet and gooey and there was a sidewalk underneath. Mimosas drop dried flowers, leaves and seed pods, but they are not so bad! Just plant them in the yard, away from the gutters, with grass all around and the lawn mower takes care of the babies. I have had them around all my life...it is one of my favorite trees. I consider them hassle free.

Pink Lotus

We love ours so much that when our main trunk started to split in two, my DH contacted Botanical Garden in Berkeley, now We have a screw thru the trunk and it's been doing great, yes it does it's mess, but worth it's trouble in it's beauty!!

Pink_lotus, a looong time ago an Albizia graced the front yard of a house we were renting. It was arguably beautiful; a little boy down the street would come down to get a closer look at our "pink feather tree" as he called it (his name for it has stuck with us ever since...)

But....it dropped its seeds and leaves all over the sidewalk, and into the house gutters, which was incredibly messy. The moral of the story? It's a beautiful (if short-lived) tree - when planted in the right spot (which means not over driveways or sidewalks unless you want to spend every day sweeping ;o)

I didn't know it was used in aromatherapy PinkLotus. How is it known - is it Albizia still? If so I've never seen it on sale. I'll keep my eyes open

i love their spreading shape and they're so unlike anything else

I think the main Albizia species used in aromatherapy is A. lebbeck rather than julbrissin. I've never come across a supplier for Albizia essential oil in the UK

This message was edited Jul 23, 2004 5:55 PM

Thanks Baa. I'll keep my eyes open here and see if there is any....

I see this is invasive in Florida and it's possibly too dry for it here

My pleasure, I'd be interested to know if you can find it, I'll look out for it too.

What a great photo! I am hoping someone here can help me. I live in Cleveland, OH (cold winters!) and everything I've read says that a mimosa tree cannot possibly grow here because of the cold. BUT, my friend down the street has a beautiful one in her back yard that is about 8 ft tall and at least 5 years old. Also, my parents live in Columbus, OH (about 3 hours south, same weather) and they have a huge Mimosa as well. So, I dug up one of the seedlings that had come up around my parents tree and brought it to Cleveland. It is about a foot tall right now and I have it planted in a huge pot, for now. I want to eventually plant this in my back yard. My parents claim their tree was given to them about ten years ago as a seedling and they just stuck it in the ground - nothing special. Can anyone give me any advice to make my Mimosa grow in Cleveland? I know it can be done, I just don't know how!

Connie243 Has grown these from seed and I believe she resides in Ohio.
I have found some growing in Nothern Ill also.

i friend of mine had given me a seedling two years ago.i call it a seedling cause it was like a stick with branches. she started it from seeds.it was about 2 feet tall.now its probably about four and a half tall this year. i thought i lost it. we had a bad winter last year. but it came back.more vigorous and healthy.i'm not quite sure of my zone here.i live east of vancouver, wa.where i live i see a few mimosa tree around.they are very pretty.

neng, you can find your zone on the zone map. :-) http://plantsdatabase.com/zone/

In aromatherapy it is called a "mimosa absolute". It is VERY expensive and rare, in my experience, like rose absolute. To find some I would just type "mimosa absolute for sale" in a Google search. It might be available through suppliers in the UK, but not for sale on shelves, for example. I have always had to order it.

I did a brief google search on this and got:
www.belles-botanicals.com/abmimosa.shtml
and
www.aromathyme.com
and
www.newenglandnatural.com
I do not know what is on those sites, but that is what came up that looked like it might have the absolute for sale.

As for this tree being short-lived, I have seen them live to be 30-40 years old, but that is not so old compared to pecans or oaks, I guess. Yet 30-40 years is a long time.

To get it to grow in OHIO, just plant it in the ground in the spring! I would put it on the south side of the house, though. But I do not know if that is necessary.



This message was edited Saturday, Jul 31st 6:35 AM

PinkLotus, I heard once that the longer it takes a tree to grow will mean the longer it's life span will be.

Thanks for that info PinkLotus (what a lovely name:)
I'll have a look next time I'm surfing

There are certainly some very large trees around here, which must have taken 30 or 40 years to get to that size
Mine's shorter than me at the moment, but I go and stroke it LOL, it will grow...

SUNBONNET SUE IN DEEP, SOUTHEAST TEXAS WHERE THIS LOVELY GROWS EVERYWHERE SAYS:
MOST APPEALING FRAGRANCE!

I HAVE A GREATER APPRECIATION FOR IT AFTER READING AND VIEWING YOUR PICS!

THANKS FOR SHARING, HAPPY GARDENING TO ALL

"Baaa" pointed out to me privately, since it also says so on the hyperlinks I posted, that the plant used to create what the aromatherapists are calling "mimosa absolute" is the one we commonly call acacia, not what we commonly call mimosa, even though the absolute smells exactly like mimosa (pink feather...I like that) blooms. I really appreciate the correction. Truth is important.

Acacia looks like mimosa, they're cousins, it seems, the leaves are similar and so are flower shapes, but acacia has a stronger smell and the flowers are yellow and smaller.

Folks in the UK, aromatherapy seems to be more developed there than here, USA, so we buy from your suppliers all the time. You all have some really cool cultural differences, and that is one of them.

Anybody who wants "pink feather tree" mimosa seeds this fall, just email me. I will go collect them.

The mimosa originated in Japan. Apparently when mature, it develops a disease that wipes it out, but not until it is 30 or 40 years old.
I like it for the swarms of hummingbirds around it and because it is so beautiful.
Shouldn't this photo be in the new photo contest?

I agree , it should definitely be entered.

What?? A disease that wipes it out at age 30-40? Do you know what kind of disease?

Originated in Japan....hmmm....interesting. Thanks.

I live in Harrisonville Missouri, zone 5 I do believe. These pink mimosa trees grow very well here. I drive by a couple of houses every day on my way to work, one that has four in its front yard and the other has one.

hi cherislife,
thanks for the info. about the zone map.now i know for sure what zone i am:)

You are quite welcome, neng. It always helps to know which zone you are in when trying to choose a plant for your yard or talking to someone about a plant that you need help with.

Thank everyone for your kind words about my photograph - there is always a great deal of luck envolved in getting just the precisely great light and the right camera in the same place at the same time.

I love that picture! Congratualations on it! I really like the mystic and beautiful appearance!

Sadly, My big mimosa trees died this year from crown rot. They were 30 years old. Please be careful not to overwater. When my yard was relandscaped this year the sprinklers hit the trees, dirt got pushed up around the roots and well - We now have three Betula 'Crimson Frost'. Since the Birch trees are vertical they will keep Mimosa drippings off the roof and we won't have all the mess but I hope that my hummingbirds who lived there will be happy in the birches. There are a lot of opportunities for nesting sites here. We don't have Birch borers yet and the Birches will take a little more water. 'Crimson Frost' has red transparent leaves and it looks stunning with the sun shining through. I've enjoyed all the gardening passion on this site. Good luck to all of you Mimosa lovers out there!

Goodness - we get 61 inches of rain every year and the Mimosa loves it. I have to believe something else besides water from the sprinkler caused the crown rot. You mentioned the yard had been landscaped - if there was major earth movement, perhaps the roots were damaged and combined with old age (30 years) and dirt piled up on the trunk ????? In any case, Mimosa will take a lot of water without significant damage if everything else is ok.

It could have suffocated from to much dirt piled onto the root zone. I believe the safe level is one to two inches per year.
I am sorry to hear that you lost your beautiful tree though ;'(

Your pic is truly a gem......You should have it printed.....It's almost like dreaming....Thank you for sharing..

Hap

I just noticed mine is much lighter pink than my neighbor across the street, and his doesn't grow as tall as mine! I have to trim it a lot, some of the lower branches grow out sooo far horizontally, it is quite tall, but the weight makes them droop a lot, such a beauty, I'll put up with the mess, here not as bad most of the year!
Annie

Does anyone else think the Mimosa smells like Nutmeg spice? I do.
farizona