Mimosa Tree Information
The mimosa tree, also known as the silk tree, is a Chinese ornamental tree that was first introduced to the United States in 1745. Since then it has been a common garden plant around the United States, mostly because of its sweet-smelling and beautiful flowers. The mimosa tree easily dominates its habitat because it reproduces and regrows faster than many native species. Because of this, the mimosa tree is today considered an invasive species, and many communities are trying to move it from city streets and gardens. Does this Spark an idea?
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Features
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The mimosa is a small tree that is usually 20 to 40 feet tall. It has light brown bark, and its leaves look like ferns. Groupings of leaves are 5 to 8 inches long and 3 to 4 inches wide. There are about 20 to 60 leaflets per branch. From May to July the mimosa tree has feathery fragrant flowers resembling pom-poms, that can be from milky white to pink in color. The flowers are about 1.5 inches long, and they form toward the ends of branches. Mimosa seeds form inside flat, straw-colored oval-shaped pods that are about 6 inches long. The pods ripen from August to September, but they stay on the tree until winter.
Habitat
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The mimosa tree's native range is from Iran to Japan, but it is naturalized in the United States from New Jersey to Louisiana and California. In the United States, the mimosa tree likes sunny areas, so it is often seen along roadsides and open lots in urban or suburban areas. It is also successful along shorelines where its seeds are easily spread via waterways. The mimosa tree is less successful in forests with full canopy cover, even though it can tolerate partial shade, and in high elevations above 3,000 feet where the cold limits its success.
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Biology
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The mimosa tree reproduces either by suckering or seeds. Its seeds can survive in a dormant state for years because of their impermeable seed coats, even for 50 years. The mimosa tree disperses seeds either below or around a full-grown tree, or the seeds can be transported long distances by flowing water and wildlife. A mimosa tree can grow up to 3 feet in a season under good conditions and resprout quickly even if the tree is top-killed or cut. Because of this, the mimosa tree is a strong competitor to any native trees and shrubs and will quickly dominate its habitat, especially in open areas and forest edges.
Impact
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The mimosa tree is an invasive species which quickly takes advantage of its habitat by producing large amounts of seeds and sprouting over vast areas. The spread of the tree is facilitated by its ability to grow in various soil types and to resprout when cut down or damaged. If let grow wild, the mimosa tree reduces sunlight and nutrients for native plants. The mimosa tree can become a problem especially along waterways.
Management
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If you like to nurture native plants in your garden, the best way to prevent the mimosa from claiming habitat is not to plant it and to remove already existing mimosa trees from the garden before seed production. If the mimosa tree has already invaded your garden, you can control it either mechanically or chemically. Mechanical control is done by either cutting the tree at ground level with a power or manual saw, or by girdling, encircling the trunk with a cut through the bark at the base of the tree about 6 inches above the ground. Either one of these methods might not get rid of the mimosa tree for good, so you often need to use herbicides or recut the resprouts to kill the mimosa tree. Young seedlings are killed by pulling them out of the ground before they flower. Remove the entire root, or the broken root pieces will resprout. The most effective herbicides for removal of small trees are a 2 percent solution of glyphosate or triclopyr and a mix of water and 0.5 percent non-ionic surfactant.
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