Facts about Mimosa Trees
* The mimosa tree, an ornamental plant with pink, soft, and silky fragrant flowers, gets its name from the Greek word ‘mimos,’ which means ‘mimic,’ according to the website gardenerdy.com/mimosa* People in the United States started growing mimosas in 1745. There are 50 types of mimosa trees, according to the website diystart.com* The pink pompom flowers of the mimosa tree appear in late spring and early summer, according to gardeningknowhow* It produces prolific crops of seed that remain viable for years, according to homeguides.sfgate.com* The tree reproduces by vegetative way (trees are cut to be grown again) and by seeds that can spread through air, water or wildlife, according to diystart.com* Mimosas have an incredibly fast growth rate, reaching a mature height of 20 to 30 feet in less than 10 years, according to homeguides.sfgate.com
One of the showiest trees of summer is in bloom, but beware the bright pink puffs, fernlike leaves and graceful shape of mimosas.
Despite their pleasing appearance, these trees have few fans among gardeners.
Southern Living's "Grumpy Gardener," Steve Bender, explains that mimosas often engender a love-hate relationship. Growers may start out liking the plant's positive traits (fast-growing, drought- and heat-tolerant) only to discover their fiendish habits (notoriously short-lived, subject to many pests).
"I hate it now," he says. "But I used to love it."
Mimosas are among a host of invasive exotic plants that city forester Gene Hyde recommends gardeners never plant.
The group includes kudzu, English ivy, privet, Bradford pear trees and the tree of heaven, sometimes called ailanthus.
"All of these invasive species, they continue to spread," says Hyde. "They're all from across the ocean, so there's nothing here to keep the population in check, so they just spread and grow wild."
Eventually, invasives can take over entire ecosystems, says Hyde.
Invasives like mimosas cause native plants to die because they grow so fast that their branches keep other plants from getting the sun they need to grow. And when invasives cause native plants and trees to die, the birds, turtles and other natural wildlife that depend on the native plants for food leave the area.
"A lot of invasive plants don't possess the same level of fruit and berries, so the birds and small mammals have two choices," he says. "They can starve to death and die, or go elsewhere to find food."
Hyde says if you have a mimosa, at least try to keep the tree confined to one area.
That's easier said than done, says Lana Sutton, who doesn't allow the trees to grow in her 1-acre yard in East Brainerd but is constantly battling the drifting seeds from neighboring properties.
"I cut them whenever I see them," she says of the sprouts. "But they're constantly coming up in my yard."
Some people think the trees are beautiful with their "lovely little puffs of pink pompoms," she says. But after the pompoms fade, they produce massive amounts of seeds that float everywhere and grow in whatever dirt they drop.
If left alone, the invasive trees would crowd out every plant in her all-natives garden.
"They beat the snot out of the natives," says Sutton. "They become an absolute curse to anyone trying to have a certain thing in their yard like grass or a garden."
But there is another thought about mimosas.
Tom Stebbins, University of Tennessee Extension agent for Hamilton County, agrees that mimosas can create havoc in a garden, but he says the trees can serve a purpose, especially when they sprout in the disturbed soil along a highway or on the edges of housing developments. Mimosas are good for stopping soil erosion, and they do it with little effort and no cost.
"It's not very wise to go into those areas and cut them down, mainly because they're holding the soil," he says. "So it's maybe not a perfect friend, but it's a tree that, for certain reasons, we can enjoy. They perform a service to some extent."
Stebbins says they're also helpful growing on the side of the road because they have just the right life span to provide assistance to growing oak and pine trees.
The website HealthGuidance.org reports that the average mimosa tree survives for about 15 years and can grow up to 20 to 30 feet tall.
Stebbins says the trees don't last as long in this area. Because they are disease-prone, they have a lifespan of five to 10 years, which is perfect, he says, for helping native trees in disturbed areas get established.
It's hard for the oak and pine tree seedlings to get rooted after other trees have been taken away to make way for a new road or development. But the mimosa tree holds the soil in place and offers just the right amount of shade to allow the native trees to get established before facing a scorching sun, says Stebbins.
"The mimosa serves that purpose," he says. "It's a short-lived tree that pulls the soil for erosion, plus it gives the shade for that seedling to up and grow."
Contact Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.