How to Graft a Mimosa Tree
A mimosa tree, also known as a silk tree, has fern-shaped leaves and can grow to approximately 40 feet in height. Mimosa trees produce fragrant pink flowers that bloom in the summer months. Mimosa trees reproduce either by seeds or through vegetative reproduction. Vegetative reproduction involves re-growth of a severed limb. Mimosa trees grow quickly and can be grown from a graft. Grafting is a method of producing an entirely new tree from a branch cut from an existing tree using vegetative reproduction. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Choose a small branch off your mimosa tree approximately half an inch thick and use your branch cutters to cut off the branch at an angle of approximately 30 degrees; do not make the cut straight across, or the branch will die.
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Place potting soil on your cellophane wrap and put the cut end of the branch onto the soil. Wrap the cellophane around the end of the branch so that the end is encased in soil. Secure the cellophane to the branch with a rubber band; the rubber band should be just tight enough to keep the cellophane in place without constricting the branch. Put your end of your branch in a bucket and cover the end with water so that the soil is soaked. Leave it in the bucket for approximately six to eight weeks.
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Unwrap the cellophane and clean off the soil from the end of your branch. A root system should have sprouted. Use your spade to dig a hole at least the depth of the roots and twice the width. Center the roots in the hole and fill it with potting soil.
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Keep your grafted branch watered so the soil is consistently moist. The branch itself may appear to die, but growth from the root system will spread to the branch and eventually grow into your tree.
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