Mimosa Silk Tree

The Mimosa Silk Tree is that wonderful thing, a tree that is incredibly beautiful, fast-growing, and yet easy to care for. The leaves are divided repeatedly into many small leaflets, giving it a wonderful ferny look, and they fold up at night, in rain, and when touched. The exotic, showy flowers look like pink powder puffs, or the crest of an African bird, and a tree in bloom is stunning. Flattened seed pods decorate the branches in winter, and the broad, spreading crown makes this tree a great choice for a quick shade tree. Use if for those difficult dry locations, where the occasional deep soak is all it needs to thrive.

• Flamboyant pink, powder-puff flowers in summer
• Finely-divided ferny foliage ‘goes to sleep’ at night
• Broad, umbrella crown casts a wide shadow
• Tough and reliable in hot, dry locations
• Fast growing even on poor ground

Plant the Mimosa Silk Tree in full sun, although it will tolerate a couple of hours of shade if it must. It grows well in any well-drained soil, acid or alkaline, from sand to clay, and on poor, dry soil too. It has no pests, and deer leave it alone. If necessary, prune in spring, just as the new growth is beginning, and train it to a single trunk, or leave several stems for a multi-stemmed look.