Mimosa Anyone?
No, not the drink, (ask me again in the morning) but the tree.
I know, I know, ...it's invasive, especially in the South. The seeds can lay dormant for years and sprout at random, overtaking native plants and blocking light to ground dwellers.
Introduced to the U.S. in 1745 as an ornamental, the mimosa's native range is Iran to Japan.
I have a "volunteer" that popped up in one of my beds, and I have let it grow. It is so beautiful this time of year.
But the knowledge that it could be hurting the environment (there's enough of that going on right now) is giving me pause.
I could take it down, save a few seeds, and plant them in a large container. It would be fairly easy to keep it pruned and dead-head the flowers each year before it went to seed.
It's hard for me to think about destroying something so beautiful.
What would you do?
I grew up with mimosa's on the Gulf coast and I love them. I don't know about the environment issue unless they are super invasive in your neck of the woods. My Grandmother called them trash trees and one should never plant them in the front yard. So of course my Mother planted three right in our front yard! Keep it and love it!
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