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Mimosa Tree

vuwugarden
13 years ago

While researching about this tree, some people say it's invasive; is it?

I want to plant one to attract hummingbirds, butterflies, etc., but do not want to plant it if it's invasive.

Please provide your opinions/experiences with this tree.

Thanks for any inputs!

Audrey

Comments (20)

  • cweathersby
    13 years ago

    Whether you plant one or not you'll end up with about 5 new babies a year.
    Does that qualify as invasive?
    My mama has a burgundy leaved one. I wouldn't plant one period unless it was that kind. But I do have lots of them that came to my garden as seedlings that grew into trees before I got a chance to rip them out.

  • beachplant
    13 years ago

    Are you talking chinese fringe tree with the pink powderpuff flowers or the native mimosa? Both are short lived, attractive to butterflies, bees, hummers, etc. both sprout all over the place.
    I love the pink chinese fringe trees though, Home Depot has the burgandy leaved one right now I'm planning to purchase(hope it tolerates salt!), not a big pest here on the island but I noticed them growing wild around New Braunfels a couple of weeks ago.
    Tally HO!

  • vuwugarden
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    I don't know if it's a Mimosa tree or not....

    I was driving along the back roads from Austin through East Texas, to Brenham.

    Through my searches on the internet, the images of the Mimosa blooms match what I saw.

    It was a bonsai looking tree with puffy pink blooms. The ones I saw throughout the road trip was at least 20 feet tall.

    Thanks for assisting me in finding out if the tree I saw is a Mimosa and if it's a good idea to plant in Central Texas.

    Audrey

  • debndal
    13 years ago

    In the 50's when I was just a kid they were very popular and we had a couple in our yard - very pretty tree. I don't know if it's invasive, really, I mean, I pull up dozens and dozens of maple, pecan, oak and other seedling every year, so what would be another few. They do make those awful bean seed pods after they bloom which are kind of ugly IMO. They also have weak wood - high winds split 1 down the middle. I guess they'd call Mimosa a "trash tree", but when blooming they are a sight to behold, and I always liked the ferny foliage.

  • Lynn Marie
    13 years ago

    I think they are beautiful! I may plant one in my yard too. I've never seen more than one in any particular spot, so they don't seem too invasive to me!

  • ltcollins1949
    13 years ago

    Yes, they are highly invasive!! Check out Mimosa Trees a/k/a silk tree or silky acacia. And driving up through east Texas, I see them growing wild all over. I recommend that you don't plant them. There are other plants that attract hummingbirds, butterflies and bees that are not invasive.

  • texan86
    13 years ago

    Mimosa Trees are highly invasive. Why not go with a native tree to attract hummingbirds like a Desert Willow?

  • ltcollins1949
    13 years ago

    I love the Desert Willow. Much nicer than a Mimosa!

  • vuwugarden
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks! I will check out the Desert Willow and stay FAR, FAR AWAY from the Mimosa. Thanks for looking out for my garden and Texas :)

  • texan86
    13 years ago

    Awesome choice! I think you will really like the Desert Willow.

  • paulacummings
    13 years ago

    My desert willow is 2 years old. I got it at Northhaven Gardens in Dallas. This is the first spring that it has looked like anything. it is now about three feet tall and it finally growing. Since it was 'drought resistant', did not baby it much until this year. I water it everyday and have fertilized it twice with Miracle Gro. Hopefully, it will bloom for me this year!

  • ltcollins1949
    13 years ago

    Desert Willow is a hardy texas native tree and doesn't require much of anything. But it does need some time to mature. I don't think that a 3' tall one will be blooming right away. Some of the ones planted at our master gardener demo gardens took several years before they started blooming.

    And they . . . must have a well-drained site and must not be overwatered; in areas with more than 30 inches of annual rainfall, it must be planted in raised beds and watered carefully, especially in winter. Growth is irregular and requires attention to early trunk development. It can be pruned to a tree or shrub; since it blooms on new wood, the more it is pruned, the more it flowers.

  • falconfling
    13 years ago

    I'm not talking about a Chinese silk tree, which almost everyone in central Texas calls a mimosa.

    How easy, if at all possible, is it, to transplant a young Texas mimosa ? I planted a gallon specimen and its doing so well that its increased size throws off the "balance" of the bed its in. It is now about four feet high and two and a half feet wide. Anyone have any experience with this ? I'd hate to kill it.

  • sowngrow (8a)
    13 years ago

    I think you'll love the Desert Willow once it gets going. It's one of my favorite hummingbird attractants in my garden. In terms of qualifying "invasive"...Some people tend to think of invasive only in terms of whether they can control the plant in their own yard. Invasive species seeds are eaten by birds who then deposit the seeds in forested areas, thereby creating an ecological imbalance in that area and the next. In many instances, invasive plants completely destroy the growing environment of native plants which feed local wildlife. The native Desert Willow is a great choice for you and the wildlife in your yard.

  • sylviatexas1
    13 years ago

    I never had any trouble moving mimosas;
    they're beautifl trees, fragrant & kid-friendly, & if you get too many seedlings sprouting up, you can pull them out or mow them down.

  • merrybookwyrm
    13 years ago

    Actually, on the black clay in DFW mimosa doesn't seem "invasive" to me. I know they have gotten the reputation of trash tree, too, because of the easily splitting bark, BUT

    I think they are the most wonderful climbing tree for children ever grown. Especially if you encourage branches at ladder-like intervals.

    I'm not partial or anything. :-)

  • pjohns09_windstream_net
    12 years ago

    I was recently in San Antonio and saw a bush that had leaves like a mimosa tree. It had beautiful orange and red blooms on it. It was simply beautiful, can you tell me what it is?

  • rock_oak_deer
    12 years ago

    It could be either Poinciana/Pride of Barbados or Caesalpinia/Mexican Bird of Paradise.

    They are both beautiful blooming plants that love heat and drought.

    Both have returned after some significant cold the last two years so they are pretty hardy.

  • cncnorman
    12 years ago

    Oh wow! You couldn't pay me to plant the native Mimosa tree! My parents had two and they were aweful! We had to pull babies out all the time and if we wanted any grass to grow we had to rake up all of the trash the mimosa dropped THEN add on all of the wasps (being allergic I consider them yucky but don't kill em unless it comes in my house.) Anyway, if you like them go for it, they smell loveley but were a ton of work for us!

  • rock_oak_deer
    12 years ago

    You might have had the asian native mimosa which is invasive in many parts of Texas and the US. The Texas native Velvet Pod Mimosa is beautiful, well behaved, and drought tolerant.

    pjohns requested info on a plant she saw here in San Antonio with "leaves like a mimosa tree." The description clearly refers to some type of caesalpina and not a mimosa.