Mimosa Tree Seeds (Albizia julibrissin)

Pink silk flowers in midsummer. The tree that drapes itself in something no other temperate tree can do.

Albizia julibrissin, the Mimosa or Silk Tree, produces flowers unlike anything else in the temperate landscape, dense clusters of silky pink filaments that look more like a tropical confection than a tree flower, emerging in midsummer when most other flowering trees have been finished for months. The feathery, finely divided compound leaves fold at dusk and in rain, giving the tree a quality of responsiveness that makes it seem almost animate. It grows fast, tolerates drought and poor soils, and produces blooms that attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and native bees in numbers that reflect the quantity and quality of nectar the flowers produce. If you are looking to buy Mimosa tree seeds or grow silk tree from seed, this is the tree that brings a genuinely tropical sensibility to temperate gardens with almost no effort.

• Extraordinary silky pink flower clusters in midsummer, unlike any other flowering tree in the temperate world
• Feathery compound leaves that fold in the evening and in rain, giving the tree unusual movement and responsiveness
• Fast-growing and drought-tolerant once established, thriving in poor soils where other trees struggle
• Attracts hummingbirds, swallowtail butterflies, and native bees intensively during its long blooming season
• Seed-grown trees produce natural variation in flower color from pale pink to deep rose

Things you probably did not know about the Mimosa Tree

The leaves move. Albizia julibrissin is thigmonastic and nyctinastic, meaning the leaves fold in response to touch and darkness. The compound leaflets close neatly each evening as light fades and reopen in the morning, a behavior that gives the tree an unusual daily rhythm visible to anyone who pays attention. The same folding response occurs during rain, which is why some rural communities called it the rain tree.

It was introduced to the United States in 1745 by a single botanist. The Persian physician and botanist Filippo degli Albizzi brought Mimosa seeds to Italy from Persia in 1745, and the tree was subsequently introduced to the United States where it has naturalized extensively across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Despite being widely planted for nearly 300 years in North America, it remains native to Asia and is considered invasive in some southeastern states.

Hummingbirds are so attracted to it that plantings near feeders reduce feeder visits. The nectar production of Mimosa flowers is sufficient that hummingbirds in areas with established Mimosa trees often prefer the natural flowers to artificial feeders during the blooming season. Gardeners who plant Mimosa near hummingbird feeders frequently report that the feeder needs refilling far less often because the birds have a better source available.

The wood was used in traditional Persian and Turkish instrument making. The wood of Albizia species native to the Middle East and Central Asia was used for sounding boards and bodies in traditional stringed instruments across the Ottoman and Persian cultural spheres. The combination of density, resonance, and workability made it a preferred tonewood in regional instrument traditions for centuries.

Growing Details

• Botanical Name: Albizia julibrissin
• Stratification: Required, scarification with hot water or sandpaper, then 30 days cold stratification
• USDA Zones: 6 to 9
• Soil: Extremely adaptable, tolerates poor, dry, or disturbed soils
• Light: Full sun
• Height: 20 to 40 feet
• Spread: 20 to 40 feet
• Growth Rate: Fast, 2 to 4 feet per year

Plant it where you will see the flowers from a window in July. Nothing else provides that color at that moment in the summer calendar.