I have baby Mimosas

I planted my seeds last week and I looked this morning and I have little baby Mimosa trees. They are so cute. Does anyone know if they will be hard to keep from kicking the bucket?

No, not hard to keep from kicking the bucket, if they're planted in the ground or brought inside over the Winter. I've had many Mimosa seedlings in pots, they don't make it thru the Winter if left in a pot here.

Will

I was told they are hardy in zone 5.

I never disputed that at all. I see them everywhere here, but they're planted.
I don't mean bring it inside in the Winter as if it was a tropical plant or something. I just mean the frigid cold here in the Winter kills Mimosa seedlings in pots.

Will

"Mimosa" can be several things. Officially it is Mimosa pudica (sensitive plant) or one of its relatives. More commonly, it is Albizia julibrissin, the silk tree. For that, just as Equilibrium aout its care. She has a special fondness for it and probably would be able to offer plenty of advice.

In the meantime, keep in mind that it needs lots of sun, grows very fast, and can barely survive a moderate zone 5 winter without protection.

Guy S.

Hehe! Evilibrium loves Mimosa! I never knew!
Hey Guy, those keys on the keyboard just pop off and back on if they need a cleaning!

Will

She loves them as far as she can throw them off of a cliff...
I am not admitting to growing them when I say that they should be given plenty of light and should be root-pruned or grown in tall pots as seedlings, as they try to form taproots which end up coiling around the bottom of the pot.

Oh my goodness! It's too early in the morning but what do we have here, Mimosa seed germinating? Somebody wasn’t following directions by soaking those seeds in hydrochloric acid before sowing them ;) Tsk Tsk Tsk!
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/577774/

Oh Guuuuuuuuuuuuuy, Noblesville is right around Indianapolis. Mimosa are doing just fine there just like they are here in the Chicago land area.
http://maps.yahoo.com/maps_result?addr=&csz=Indianapolis%2C+IN&state=IN&uzip=46204&ds=n&name=&desc=&lat=39.767899&lon=-86.158081&mlt=39.767899&mln=-86.158081&zoomin=yes&BFKey=&resize=l&trf=1&mag=8

USDA Hardiness Map- http://www.ahs.org/pdfs/USDA_Map_3.03.pdf

Check this out, Mimosa has become a pest in more than just the southern states- http://web.utk.edu/~vrudis/nnis/Rudis_MSTS2004.pdf#search='Mimosa%20albizia%20Indiana%20invasive' Mimosa, coming to a theater near you soon! Free reruns for decades to come! Hey, did you know there were cultivars developed and available that are fusarium wilt resistant? Looks as if some rocket scientists are busy working on a cold hardy cultivar that would be able to hyrbridize with the straight species as well as the fusarium wilt resistant cultivars! Pass around the popcorn, soda, Jujubees, and Good & Plenty!

Go get em, Equil!

Are you all trying to tell me to flush the little darlings? I had to kill them on purpose.

Umm, I wouldn't flush them. Burn them. They snap crackle and pop real nice. Seriously, to do away with them is a personal decision. I joke around a lot and I personally believe whole heartedly that this species is nothing but trouble but... it is your land and you pay the property taxes on it.

Have you ever seen a Fringe Tree (Chionanthus virginicus)?
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=Fringe%20Tree&fr=FP-tab-web-t&toggle=1&cop=&ei=UTF-8

Another that might interest you would be the Red Bud (Cercis canadensis)-
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=CERCIS%20CANADENSIS%20&ei=UTF-8&fr=FP-tab-web-t&x=wrt

Dont ruin this great tree, I know a few people on here have issues with it but it is a great tree. There is not a better tree for a very tropical feel for those of us who cannot live by the South Seas. We have planted several and they do great and look sharp when the summer gets warm. If you have picked to not grow these trees send them down to me and we will grow them here. That said you have to be the gardener of your place and make your choices carefuly.

Mitch

I'm new to the site (5months) and I'm staying away from Equilibrium on this one. I did enjoy my first view of Mimosa at the gardens in Salt Lake this summer and was considering it in my garden. But I learned....

Hey Mitch, Mimosa is inarguably a beautiful tree. Intoxicatingly so I might add. Of course they do great, they're an invasive species. But are they a great tree, not on the continent of North America.

Hey Guy, I'm far too well fed to be interested in gnawing on anyone but a scantily clad Gladiator might be sort of fun to take to breakfast with me next Thursday with my lady friends. Please send one like this-
[HYPERLINK@www.prostunts.net]

Speaking of being satiated- Ben Dolbeare of The Dept of Natural Resources called me and we spoke for just over an hour last week. Are you sitting down? You need to sit down. Sometime this coming October/November; we will see most and quite possibly all of the following added to our State's Hall of Shame List-
Calleryana spp.
Berberis thunbergii
Albizia julibrissin (my heart bleeds for ya on this one Guy)
Euonymus alata
Ailanthus altissima
Miscanthus spp.
Quercus acutissima
Elaeagnus umbellata
Elaeagnus angustifolia
Hedera helix
Ligustrum spp.
Paulownia tomentosa

And surprisingly, Acer platanoides is allegedly going to hit the list by the close of this year. There were others that I figured didn't have a chance of making it which would include Hesperis matronalis but it made it on to the hit list. He mentioned a few other species which will allegedly be added to our Hall Of Shame List which are eluding me right now but they were equally as invasive as those mentioned above. He sent me a thick packet of materials that I must admit I haven't had time to review.

I respectfully requested that the newly formed Council and Board consider adding Phalaris arundinacea & Morus alba. I sort of begged him to quick fast add those to the list to be considered. He agreed however he could have merely been patronizing me... who knows.

I am on Cloud 9. I can not wait until it is illegal to buy, sell, offer for sale, distribute, or plant seeds, plants, or plant parts of these exotic weeds without a permit. It is my understanding violators will be charged with a Class B misdemeanor and that each day shall be considered a separate offense when the violation is a continuing offense. Those were his exact words. Exotic plants offered for sale in Illinois can be subject to confiscation and destruction by agents of the Dept of Natural Resources.

Enforcement was discussed and funding for same will allegedly be part of the deal. Mention was made of an 800# to report the sale of banned species. I forgot what the fines were going to be. I'm relieved action is finally being taken. I'd much prefer to see more money available to social programming as opposed to invasive species control, management, and eradication. The tax payers only cough up so much and our resources are not unlimited so something had to give.

Here's something of interest, check out the IL Admin code on restricted species. Now check out what we've got on the books for aquaculture. Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and Water Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) may not be legally brought in to our State and sold any longer. Finally.

Once our State officially bans these species, I believe there will be a domino effect. Other states will follow suit, it's only a matter of time.

Ben has been trying very hard to bring the state up to speed on this. There are two primary state laws here restricting invasive plants; the Noxious Weed Act and the Exotic Weed Act. Noxious weeds are mostly those like thistles that plague agriculture (which is big business here in Illinois), and that law is tougher, requiring eradication.

The Exotic Weed Act was something several of us worked to pass back in the 70s. We got it enacted only by limiting it to banning production and sales, instead of requiring eradication of existing populations. It still was fought tooth and nail by the Neanderthal former director of the Illinois Nurserymens' Association, who ironically had been a former IDOC botanist (i.e., traitor).

Thankfully, that INA person was fired and is long gone. I hope the new director and the current INA Board are more aware of the problems caused by some of these monsters. We tried for many years to add just a few of the worst "ornamental" shrubs such as Elaeagnus umbellata to the list, but because some nurseries still produced them the INA always lobbied successfully against it.

By the way, next time I see Ben I might suggest a few more species for his list. If he can get it done, we might as well make it pretty comprehensive -- who knows if we'll ever have another reasonable shot at it. Kalopanax and Amur maple come to mind, as well as some of the Loniceras.

Guy S.

Ok Guy now i'm getting mad! I love my amur maples

Then come on over and take home a few thousand of mine!

Maybe they're not a problem in your region. But we're talking about an Illinois blacklist here, and they are really a nuisance in parts of this state.

Guy S.

Asian Lonicera is already on the hit list. You better take a look at the legislation dealing with Aquaculture. Pretty tough stuff compared to the Exotic Weed Act. Guy, please call him right now and suggest a few more. There is a Council of 50 and a Board of 14 that will be meeting soon.

You do realize that once it is illegal to plant seeds of these species that the flood gates for litigation will open up, right? I foreshadowed this 5 years ago. Take a close look at what the Village of Hawthorn Woods is doing. Take a very close look and read between the lines. The year 2007 will be rock and roll time.

Send us all a link to the Hawthorn Woods situation if you can. 2007 is also the emergence year for our worst brood of periodical cicadas, which will draw the majority of my concerns here, and the drought cycle might still be continuing then as well. Sounds like it will be a S-H-T-F year all the way around.

Guy S.

http://www.vhw.org/
click on Village Code then go to Title 4: Public Health. Poke around in there for a bit.

Incidentally, Lincolnshire is gearing up too- http://www.village.lincolnshire.il.us/
I haven't had time to read what they've got on the books however it was discussed recently so I have a general idea.

I suspect Wadsorth, Long Grove, and Lk Forest will be next in line. The Villages and Cities with the most firepower are going for it. Baby steps.

We've got leash laws for dogs and now we have leash laws for cats and it looks as if the ground work is being laid to have leash laws for plants. I can honestly say I will not be upset when the day comes, and it will for reasons you and I have discussed.

The Mimosa Tree is going strong still.. You can lobby for it's removal but the City of Springfield IL just agreed to plant 300 trees in the city to quell the EAB problem. They feel that this tree will make southern people feel more at home up here in the midwest. I am of course joking... but I am certain that I just made one woman very scared. But in all seriousness if there were a movement to plant Albizia here, it might just recieve the same acclaim that the Ash was given 20 years ago. Perhaps we should all plant the black walnut...... It lives anywhere and kills any competition. And any plans for a garden.

Mimosa will probably be going strong long after me and Mike are dead and long after our children's children are dead. What pray tell, was the rationale behind planting Mimosa to quell the EAB threats? This is one of the trees that is probably going to end up on the State's very own hit list this coming November which will make it unlawful to sell here.

Equil, Mike was just funnin' ya -- you can put away your nitro pill now!

Guy S.

I guess I'm not in all that silly of a mood today. I got hung up racking my brain to try to figure out the connection between EAB and Mimosa. I couldn't come up with anything plausible that would have prompted Springfield to purchase and plant 300 and I was just on the phone with their attorney and we were literally just discussing this bane and associated costs. I must admit Mike got me good.

OK, It's time for a southern gardener to slow things down. Mimosa are pests. Period. I love trees, but I kill Mimosa. It takes time. I would rather spend my gardening time doing other things. You folk in the Midwest must plant them, but we don't. Yes, southern belles love the look of the Mimosa flowers, but the rest of us must control their growth. By the way, I'm way out of my league in your company, but we have a tree that the locals call the "popcorn" tree, that is even more invasive. I pull those seedlings year 'round. If chinese privet isn't filling your woodlands yet, it will. Be joyful. It's all about control.

Attaboy, Mike -- "getting Equil good" is what keeps us all in stitches! Welcome to the "men's club" and it's your turn to throw another log on the campfire. I'm really amazed she fell for it, as much as we all tease her around here. I guess she thought you were too sweet and innocent to mess with her mind.
She thought wrong!!! Hee-hee-hee!

By the way, Equil, are you sure the dwarf hackberry tree I gave you didn't have any stratified Albizia seeds in the pot? Hmmmmmm?
;-)

Guy S.

Hi Peony -- lucky for us up here, popcorn tree (Sapium) is not hardy north. And the only reason I keep an Albizia around is that it's not reproducing here -- I watch it closely for that. But don't worry, we have our share of problems with honeysuckles, garlic mustard, buckthorns, Elaeagnus, etc.

Don't let anyone tell you that you're "out of your league" here. We all learn from one another, and you have valuable contributions to make. Also, just because some of us tease our friend Equil mercilessly doesn't mean we don't have the utmost respect and admiration for her knowledge, energy, tenacity, and motivation. Just don't tell her I admitted that!

Guy S.

Goodness gracious, you're most certainly not out of your league! What's the definition of league you are using?

Well, I just got back from a 30 mile bike ride around Lake Springfield, and everytime I saw an old Silver Maple, I planted some seedlings from the Mimosa right next to it... (I have heard that they are great companion plants) I even stopped along the lake where some introduced endangered cypress was growing, and peppered the ground with seeds. I used MG tree soil to make sure that they would grow well.. With the warm lake water discharge from the Power Plant, I expect them to make a grove in no time at all. I think the 'hot ditch' might make for a microclimate that will send them into a frenzy. I can't wait until I see a 'sea' of pink blossoms along the interstate near the power plant. (If you are reading this then you should stop hating me and realize that this is all a joke, but I am guessing that EQ's head was about to explode.) I am going to include Garlic Mustard recipes in the next post.

You didn't get me that time ;) I did start laughing though at the thought of you on your bike like Johnny Mimosa Seed.

Lord I just checked in today on this thread and found that it is still going without me. It amazes me that it is still being read.

That's a good question Guy. The Cypress (I do not know the cultivar) was introduced to Lake Springfield long ago, but it became public news when the power plant initially planned it's new smokestack. Public outcry for its safety confused me when it first was announced. I cannot say that it is not a native species, but if not, then it had better be endangered in the US, and a native in some area to boot, else the objection should be a moot point. I see some merit in protecting a botanical garden from the progress of society.... but the preservation of an invasive species in an alien enviroment solely to hinder a beneficial move by a city to better the lives of the denziens makes very little sense to my unless it serves as an island of refuge to maintain the diversity of ecology.

Hey Johnny Mimosa Seed, The Cypress they could be referring to might be Bald Cypress although its natural range is a little bit south of Lake Springfield. Pond Cypress might be a possibility too. Think Taxodium not Cupressus.