If she dont find one closer,let me know. we live about 50 or so miles from charlotte and have plenty of them to share.

I love the mimosa trees and wouldn't be without one, however, I lived with one over my patio for years, and never would want one that close to my house again. The pretty pink flowers fall and make a brown stuck-down mess, the seeds go everywhere, and worse, they get mimosa webworms that fall all over the patio and leave webs strung everywhere. In addition, in the fall the tiny leaves get in every crack and crevice and are hard to remove. So plant one, and enjoy it, but I would advise against planting it over the patio! The one I have now is in the corner of the lawn, where I can enjoy it without it being a nuisance, and I love it!

A tree that gives dappled shade? If you can post a pic of your Mimosa tree I'd really appreciate it. I'm always looking for such a tree.

Thank you everyone.

Yes, my daughter and I know about the negative aspects about Mimosas. I have always grown them wherever I lived, so she grew up with them. I have them here in my yard. But even so, that is the tree she wants. If she doesn't like it, she can always cut it down and plant something else there. Or plant something else there just in case she does end up wanting to cut it down. (LOL)

In the meantime, she would have a lovely shade tree for the patio area. They grow so fast and they need the shade ASAP.

I can mail her a dormant one from my yard this fall, but I thought if someone lived near there and had some they wanted to get rid of, she could go get one or two.

schoolhouse:
The names to look for are 'Silk Tree Mimosa' or 'Silky Mimosa', or 'Silky Acacia' (Albizzia julibrissin). I provided a LINK below for you to go take a look. Beautiful tree.

I can mail you some seeds if you want to grow your own trees. They are so easy to grow from seeds and grow really fast. That's where I got my trees - from a friend's tree. In two years, those trees were already as tall as my house and created a beautifully dappled shady area on the south side where I needed it the most in the summer. In Ohio, I don't think you will have the problem that those in the South have of them reseeding all over the place. They are listed on the invasive list in the South. I have very few that come up here, but the ones that do come up are easy to pull. You see them around, but not a nuisance here in Oklahoma. We love them!

They would be a beautiful addition to your place. The pink fluffy flowers are gorgeous and smell so fragrant in May and early June. The pinnate leaves have a very Tropical look. In fact, I used to set out all my hothouse Tropicals under them thru the summer every year. It was just the right amount of sunshine and shade for them. I love the way the leaves bounce and flutter in the slightest of breeze. Hummingbirds and honey bees love the flowers too.
I think they are one of those kinds of trees that you either love or hate.

The leaves do fall to the ground in the late summer/early fall, but they decompose very quickly with rain or waterings the soil is very fertile where they fall. The Mimosa is a Legume. The seed pods are easy enough to rake up. I don't mind at all. In fact, I usually just run over the leaves and seed pods with the lawnmower and turn it all back into soil lickety split!

~Annie

Here is a link that might be useful: Silky Mimosa Tree

Ha!

She is welcome to every darn (clean it up for the forum) mimosa tree that sprouts in my yard. A more invasive thing I've never seen. I pulled up six of the little monsters in the last two days, and cut down six big ones across the street and I plan to cut the others. They have just grown up on the side of the road.

Beautiful but totally invasive here. Up and down the interstates, all along the country roads, the only thing to compare to it is is the wisteria that does the same thing. It pushes through and overtakes native trees. It is a nuisance here, but since you know what you are getting into, no problem. But with the taproot so long and strong it must reach through to China, it would take a bulldozer to dig up a 3 foot tall mimosa tree here.
kay

schoolhouse, If you do decide to get a mimosa tree, be sure to get the hardier 'ernest wilson', which are hardy in zone 5. Forestfarm mailorder in Oregon has them. I got one from them about 6 years ago and it's now 25' high and almost as wide and is now in bloom here and this is Portland, ME. It's very tropical looking and out of the pods that form, only a few have any viable seeds in them, so there is no real worry of infestion....like the NORWAY MAPLES here.

I also have several potted mimosas, the more "southern" kind, which I keep in the garage over winter. Sweetannie4u, that might be a better choice for your daughter, a potted mimosa, if there is any concern about flowers dropping on the patio and plant some other fast growing tree for shade. But I think the idea of one growing in the yard next to the patio would be great. I love them and wouldn't mind at all cleaning up the spent blossoms LOL and it sounds like you and your family like mimosa as much as I do.

davealju,

Funny...a maple was the second tree I was going to suggest that she plant there. They grow really fast. I have those too. In four years, I have one as tall as the house and it shades the south side of our house in summer. When I got it, it was only two inches tall. It was growing in the "Y" of the trunk of the mother tree, of all places. I got three little trees and two lived and grew into very nice shade trees.

I'll have to look up "Norway Maple" and see if that is what I have. :)

I have read posts by many people in the South stating how Mimosas are considered a nuisance there and read articles on the internet that lists them as an 'Invasive pest' that some states are trying to eradicate. So...maybe it is not a good choice for her in North Carolina. But, I will pass all this info on to my daughter. She will have to decide for herself.

Thanks everyone!
~Annie

My neighbor had one that got quite large before the trunk started rotting so she cut it down. But one of its "babies" grew up on my side of the fence from the roots so now I get to enjoy it, and so can she. They are not super invasive around here. I bought a "Chocolate Mimosa" from HD and I love the dark leaves. Doesn't seem to bloom as heavily as the regular kind but the leaves are very pretty. I also have one of these:

http://www.delange.org/MexicanBirdOfParadise/MexicanBirdOfParadise.htm

It's a Caesalpinia gilliesii and much prettier than this picture shows. Has yellow flowers with "red eyelashes". Very similar habit to the mimosa and it blooms continuously in my yard. Also grows from seed, I hear. I prune the lower branches lightly when they get heavy looking. Its not supposed to like cold weather but mine has made it through 3 very cold Dallas winters. I really like plants with these mimosa-like leaves.

bouquet,
Mother had a Mexican Bird of Paradise in the front yard when we lived in the Mojave Desert. It was the red with yellow variety. We all loved it. She kept in trimmed as a bush about 4 feet tall and maybe the same wide. It bloomed from March until winter came there. It grew at the edge of our shade tree out front by the sidewalk. EVERYONE always remarked about its beauty.

If you would, I would love to have some seeds to try. Can send you a SASE for them. They would do great here as a bush.

Yes, I love the bi-pinnate compound leaves they both have too. Very tropical and creates such a lovely dappled shade. I love the way they flutter in the breezes. I don't mind the leaf-drop or flower-dropping either, and it is so dry here that they aren't a nuisance about reproducing.

Never heard of a Chocolate Mimosa. Wow! That sounds kinda weird.

~Annie