You should try to help yourself...the reason they aren't carried here is because they are invasive. They aren't as prolific in the Pac NW, which is why you'll see them sold there. I would be very suspicious of any nursery or garden center selling a mimosa. If you think they're pretty, you'll really enjoy it three years after you plant one and there are THOUSANDS of them everywhere in your yard looking pretty. Oh, and your neighbors' yards too! =)

So, please...don't buy it! How about a fringe tree instead? Native and attractive to butterflies, fragrant, good shade in summer, decent fall color...and readily available at reputable nurseries.

I have never seen them for sale. Anywhere. They are easy to start from cuttings, or you can just dig up the seedlings from anyone that has them. They seed around something fierce so most tree owners wouldn't mind allowing you to dig up seedlings. You will want to start new cuttings or dig more seedlings every 5-10 years because the mature trees catch multiple diseases and slowly die. They are not often long lived trees.

I happen to mow my lawn at least every couple of weeks, and so do my neighbors. Therefore, I can't imagine that there will be thousands of them growing in my yard or in theirs. And I don't know of anyone who has one growing in their yard that I can ask for a seedling, if I did I wouldn't have asked for a source that I could buy one from locally.

Please... Come take mine!!! I did not plant it, it came from my neighbor (who finally had hers removed). We mow regularly too - which only controls the spread in the yard. Flower beds, cracks in the sidewalk, driveway, even the gutters have all felt the pain of this invasive tree. Just take it FAR FAR AWAY from anyone who's opinion you value. My neighbor & I are good friends, but I curse her tree every time I pull another. I de-limb the one that is established to reduce offspring, and I'm threatening my DH with divorce if he doesn't remove ours ASAP!

Red, what part of the Triad are you in? I have gobs of them. They grow along the edge of a neighbors empty lot and I can't keep them killed out. They are beautiful, but I think every seed germinates and the roots run deep.

I live south of Thomasville, Rootdigger, towards Lexington. And I have some neighbors that took out ALL of the trees between my house and their "junkyard" so now I have a wonderful view of a bunch of old cars they park out there, so I'd dearly love to plant some of these trees that may be quite a nuisance in the future.

If you want trees that grow fast, get some Tulip poplars (Liriodendron tulipifera). You can buy them at nurseries so that you have something right away and they grow very fast. I had one sprout in my front bed and it was over 12 feet tall in 3-4 years.

I'd vote for using the vastly overused leyland cypress over mimosa ... at least it doesn't seed around.

Actually, there are lots of non invasive alternatives. Please consider them before you do a mimosa.

Well..."thousands" does seem a bit overboard, sorry... =)

But dozens to hundreds, counting the widespread seeds that can fly for over a mile in the wind.

Someone has to be offering some mimosas they want dug up -- please send me an email if you have some!

If you are looking for a tree - or group of trees - to screen out an unattractive view, mimosas are not the tree to consider. Never mind their invasive tendencies, they are very light and airy, pretty much a see through tree. If you want to block the view, you would need dense, twiggy plants or else evergreens. Hollies, magnolias, camellias, arborvitae, junipers, cedars, cypress, even white pine or loblolly pines would do a better job of blocking off the unpleasant view. Tulip poplar would be another choice, although deciduous, and perhaps too tall growing. For other, smaller deciduous trees, consider crape myrtles, crabapples, redbud, smoketrees, redmaples, dogwoods or sourwood.

Not to mention that mimosas are one of the last trees to leaf out each spring (perhaps as late as May?). That's a lot of time looking at neighbors without leaves.

I don't think they care. They are dead-set on a mimosa. Go to any highway and you can pick from an assorted variety right off the side of the road. They don't get very tall so I doubt they would screen much.

Hey Red Clay Soil!
Try Price Nursery in High Point, Westchester Dr I believe, just down the street from Main St. I was there a year or two ago while visiting family in town and they had mimosas there.
Although I think the cost was something like 40$. They were about 4-5 feet tall with a single trunk. The trees are really very easy to grow from seed however; just nick the hard coating and plant and they'll start sprouting in a couple days. I think they're very pretty trees too and they're one thing that I really miss about the South although I do have some growing in large tubs here in Maine. I keep them in the garage over winter and repot every couple years or so and they've been blooming for years now.

Well anyway, good luck!

Hey, thanks to the person from Maine for helping me out w/finding mimosas here in NC. I know right where Price Nursery is, I'll call them tomorrow to see if they have any available this year. If I knew where any wild ones were growing, I'd definitely try to get some seeds to start--the only place I've seen them growing in the wild was on Martha's Vineyard.

They are growing in the wild everywhere here in NC. And by "wild" I mean the roadside. Jqpublic's suggestion two posts up is a very viable one for saving $40. Enjoy!

Link:

Here is a link that might be useful: NCNPS Mimosa Link