I've been cutting down a mimosa that sprouted up along a sidewalk..for about 7 years. Chopped it down to the ground each year & it comes right back but with long branches that get in the way.
Even if it doesn't have damaging roots, it has persistent roots.
I wouldn't let it grow along a foundation.

Kill it now before it divides and multiplies!

In addition to tearing up your driveway and foundation, it's about the weediest tree around and at or near the top of most lists of invasive, non-native trees to be eradicated.

I think they're pretty, too -- or I DID until I saw how they sprout up EVERYWHERE and found out all the problems they cause in the environment, not just my own yard. I let a "volunteer" grow up outside my fence over my pond area and now I have to cut that down, even though it looks good there, because I KNOW what it will lead to and I have to "practice what I preach," so to speak.

Responsible Gardening :)
Jeff

Jeff, besides the chain saw, you better bring along napalm and a thermo-nucular (giggle) device to get those roots out or they will come back to haunt you.

Nope, Dottie, Cut it within a few inches of the ground, immediately drill as big of a hole, width-wise, in the top of the cut trunk and about a quarter inch deep, and immediately pour the strongest concentrate of glyphosate you have available into that... TRUST ME... it WON'T come back from that!

The "standard" advice is just to paint the cut trunk with the undiluted glyphosate concentrate, but I find most of those freshly cut trunks tend to "bleed" a bit and anything you put on them runs off fairly easily, so I use a Forstner bit (although a regular drill bit will do, if you don't have Forstner bits) to dig a shallow "well" in that trunk to hold a bit of the glyphosate (Roundup is the main namebrand).

For those of you who garden "organically," GOOD LUCK with permanent elimination of most any aggressive tree or shrub. I've had hollies, oaks, redbuds and a variety of other things come back from fairly VICIOUS cuttings without using this method -- hollies even when the roots were ground by a "professional" to a depth of two feet.

I'm SURE there are "organic" ways to do it. I just don't know what they are.

Merry Mimosa Massacreing! :)
Jeff

Ok I've heard enough, I'm pulling that bad boy up ASAP.

As for hollies, YES I also have one that is cut to the ground and it stil comes back every year.

As far as orgamic removal I heard of this method which is elaborate.

Take a Steel Drum cut out of bottom and top to make a "burn barrel) Place the barrel over the offending stump fill with wood and have a long fire. It will burn the stump out of the ground including deep roots.

UPDATE!!!!

The Mimosa was pulled up and is now composting!!!!

Die Evil TREE DIE!

Joe, nowadays, most of us can get into trouble by open burning. At least you don't have to resort to that and the problem is solved.

Still, you can find mimosa starts at lots of roadside 'garden centers' or at plant swaps. That way you can have it where you want it.

Joe, I believe this plant is listed on the South Carolina state-listed noxious weeds website. I know it is on my noxious weeds list - I pull up the little ones almost daily and the nearest tree that I am aware of is almost half a mile away.

the reason the mimosa is so difficult to erradicate is that the root is a "tap root", meaning that it is as long as the main trunk is tall. So, it's no wonder they are hard to kill. I still think they are pretty and it just isn't summer if I don't see a mimosa blooming.

our backyard was full of them when we moved in 15 yrs ago. i recall being mad that when they surveyed they whacked some. it was't long befor we whacked more. but they came back every yr for many yrs until i finally started dipping my pruners in the roundup before i cut. 1 or 2 rounds of that finally took care of the resprouting. the trunks & roots rot relatively fast for wood once they're dead. we still have one huge tree we can't bear to cut, but do mow the seedlings. any strays in an area that doesn't get mowed get pulled after a good rain or roundup pruned. they are very pretty but oh so invasive. good luck!

i get mad every time i see someone selling them. how irresponsible. the only place they are acceptable to me is somewhere you can really keep a tight reign on seedlings. i do have to admit the purple leaved one the arboretum had for a while was drop dead gorgeous. they got rid of it, but i don't know why. tam

I wsnt to put a pol in an not lose my precious mimose tree how do yhe roots run along ground or down

I'm not so negative...lovely tree, stays smallish and can easily be shaped into a lovely form. My neighbor has one and I have never had a volunteer in my yard. I'm in MD, not the true south so you dont see these trees everywhere. That may be why it isnt invasive here.

liz, please see my post above. The roots can run for more than fifty feet under the ground. That root was about 4 ft below ground. The original got so big that it's roots knocked down our wall along the bank that it is still on. yes, it or it's child is still there.

I drilled (10-12) 1” holes ateound the base of the tree. dumped about 1 oz each of straight roundup (glyphosate?) into the holes. tree dead within days. it was about 35 feet high with a huge root anout 30’ long. now to get rid of the dead tree

I love mine so much. 🥺 Now I’m worried because it’s getting kind of big and it’s only 10 to 15 feet away from the house. I only found 2 seedlings so far and we had it for many years. I never knew they were invasive and damaging to the foundation. 😩