I also love those things. I called all over one year and kept getting the same response. It seems they think it's more of a weed than a tree. I find this sad. I personally find them so lovely and, for me, evoke such fond memories.

I still don't have one.

I hope you have better luck. As I recall, though, they're pretty fast growers. A small one might not be so bad.

our neighbors growing up had a beautiful one. I had no idea they are a invasive species in florida. a google search does find one place you may be able to order a 5-7 footer for $100 bucks wow! you could go the intersection of 111th and mingo in tulsa and dig up all the seedlings you want, LOL.

In urban situations, invasive species like the mimosa tree are not a big deal. But in a rural setting such as yours, it would not be a great idea to plant a mimosa tree. To put it politely, it would not be a responsible thing to do.

-Matt

I'll agree with Matt that it might not be the responsible thing to do, but I'll add that we always had a mimosa in our yard when I was a kid and I loved it and I planted one here several years ago. Sometimes there is a tree that you loved so much as a child that it is worth it to you to be a bit irresponsible and plant the tree you love, and that is what I did.

In about 4 or 5 years, I've never had one seedling sprout from seed from my tree. (If they had, I'd have carefully transplanted some of them into pots to give mimosa-loving neighbors who want one, and I would have pulled and disposed of the rest.)

I have to deal with a bunch of invasive plants here like cedars (junipers, actually) and spend tons of time removing them and barely making a dent in the population, so I don't think my one little mimosa tree is going to be a big issue. People up the road from us have large, old mimosas and some of those trees must be 30 or 40 years old and are just so beautiful, but their trees haven't spread seedlings around that end of our road either. Maybe either our clay soil or high summer heat prevent the seeds from sprouting and becoming invasive problem trees here at our end of the state. (Plants that are said to be invasive just don't seem to be invasive in our normally-dry-and-hard-as-a-rock clay soil. If you have good soil, invasiveness might be an issue.)

I had to order mine from a nursery in Louisiana and between shipping and the cost of the tree, it was not inexpensive. It was a quart-size but grew pretty quickly and was a decent size by the end of its second summer. I didn't care that I had to order one and have it shipped because I was determined to have one. My dad loved mimosa trees and so did I. My dad is gone now, but I think of him when I'm sitting under the mimosa tree watching the hummingbirds visit it just like we did back when I was a kid.

I think Thompson and Morgan sells seed if you're interested in growing them from seed, and Stark Bros. sells them for around $20, which I'd bet is for a quart-sized pot.

Dawn

I love mimosas and weeping willows, but my dh won't let me have one. We had them in the yard when I was growing. They always smelled awesome, but had a really short life span.

I've always liked Mimosas because they're so pretty and they make such good climbing trees. I love other trees more but I do enjoy a Mimosa in bloom.

Oh wow, I don't think I've ever seen one of those, and now I want one too.

I wonder if i'd get arrested for digging on city property if I made a trip with a shovel to 111th and Mingo.

Jo

Oh, good grief! I didn't realize that the lovely mimosa is an invasive species. It smells so nice in bloom and is so interactive. That's sad. Being from the South, though, I get kind of twitchy about invasive species. I do believe that kudzu will over take the entire world and alien species will find tendrils creeping out toward Mars.

Alas . . . the lovely mimosa.

cs6000...try Forest Farm nursery out of Oregon. The last time I checked with them, they had mimosa trees in the 5-6 foot range. They're also the hardier variety, which will withstand temperatures of about -15 . I planted one several years ago and it's now almost 25 feet tall and was covered in blossoms last summer.

Sooner Plant Farm has them in 2-gallon containers, but is sold out of the 5 gallon size.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sooner Plant Farm

I grew up in a mimosa tree too:) My parents finally had to have it removed last year which was a bit emotional. My brother and I climbed it, hung toys from it, made mud chocolate chip cookies from it (the seeds made excellent "chocolate chips"), and the whimsical flowers made wonderful hair pieces for putting on neighborhood plays...As far as being invasive, I remember a few seedlings showing up around the house but it was easy to spot them and remove them as needed. Now I want one:)

Isn't there something else wrong with a mimosa tree? I thought we were discouraged from buying them for a reason. It wouldn't have been seedlings. Do they have residue like cottonwoods? A friend was visiting me once when the cottonwood trees were blowing their white nasty ugly residue, and she commented on how beautiful it was to have those floating though the air. (She was not a gardener) All I could think of was how nasty those trees are, and how much I hated them. I thought the mimosa trees did the same thing.

Sammy

Sammy, I think they discourage buying them because of their invasiveness, which I think must vary a great deal. My tree is about 10 years old and never has produced a single seedling. (If it ever produces a seedling, I'll dig it up and transplant it someplace else so I can have another mimosa tree.)

They also are fast-growing trees, and the downside to that is that they are fast-dying trees. Most trees that grow at rapid rates like mimosas only live a decade or two at best, and sometimes live a much briefer time than that. There are some in my neighborhood that are at least 20 years old and still healthy, and I'm hoping mine is as long-lived as those.

They're prone to fusarium wilt, so for people who have problems growing other plants prone to fusarium wilt, they probably wouldn't be a great tree to plant.

The flowers don't float through the air after they wither and turn brown---so I don't think they would be an issue like cottonwood's "cotton".

The seed pods are kinda messy when they fall to the ground, but most everyone here just mows right over them and either chops them up with their mulching mower blades or rakes them up with grass clippings for their compost piles.

I love my mimosa tree and it is a hummingbird and butterfly magnet.

Dawn

I had a tree close by in the neighborhood and I fought seedlings for a number of years when I first bought my house. That particular tree is gone, and I haven't seen any seedlings in a long time. They are pretty trees! (but I did the grrrr thing every time I found one!)

You, Lisa? Growling at a thug? hahaha ;) Nah. We have one inside our property. I've watched, but haven't seen invasive growth. Meanwhile, there are thousands of poplar tree saplings that are running amok on the neighbor's property. I haven't seen any serious threat of invasiveness from the mimosa in our area. I know it is horrible in other areas that do not have our cold winters and blazing summer sun. I'm in northern central Oklahoma.

Are you guys familiar with Mimosa borealis? Its a native mimosa. It comes up easily from seed and is very pretty in bloom. If I had the space I'd want that.

I grew up around Mimosa trees and judging by the way they all performed in my neighborhood most had a short life span (ornamentally speaking) because they got ugly after several years, eventually it seemed the tree would start declining and they got cut down one after another and replaced with a better tree. The smell is heavenly. They were introduced to the US in 1745 and have been planted ever since so whatever invasive environmental damage they might be accused of, the toothpaste is long since out of the tube since its naturalized itself everywhere.

I don't like seeing invasive trees along the roadsides myself and the topic often results in some strong statements on forums. I see Mimosa in the wild but I don't fall apart over it.

I'll risk possibly offending someone and ask: has anyone noticed the thick forests of Callery Pear trees coming up around the city in the wild in ever widening forests? Its disconcerting to say the least. The dense growth of those trees growing close together allows no sunlight in, the obvious rapid escape and aggressive naturalizing into the surrounding countryside is worrisome. A grove of bamboo coming up among a mess of red cedar and hackberry trees where it was once grassland was something I saw the other day and it was not an attractive result. I absolutely hate seeing either running bamboo or Callery Pear Trees and wish neither had been introduced here, especially the Callery Pears.

On the other hand....

An invasive tree that I love the looks of is Salt Cedar. I mean, I really wish I could have one for that unreal soft color and texture. I can just imagine a nativists reaction especially since I have a mostly native landscape because I am drawn to that but still..... There is one on Paseo in a sidewalk area and it is just gorgeous. As kids we used to use the wood for fishing poles, they grew along the Salt Fork River.

http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=MIBO2

Mimosa is pretty good in my book (with exception geographically), because it is a legume. Anything to replenish our soils is A-Okay. I think there's far more to worry about than Mimosa.. Again.. for Oklahoma.

Those pear trees sure raise some tempers, don't they?

That salt cedar is pretty.

I like salt cedar too and always have. Would the world end if you planted one? To me, it is meaningful to have planted trees on our property that bring back happy childhood memories. I don't care if they have the potential to be invasive or if they are trash trees----what matter to me is the sentimental value of having a type of tree from my childhood that I loved and that brings back memories.

That native mimosa is pretty.

I think callery pears are overused, and by the time they reach a nice size and shape, they're starting to die. While they're pretty in bloom, the bloom period is relatively brief and I'd rather plant a better quality tree or at least something with a longer bloom period.

This week the trees in bloom at our place are the mimosa, the desert willows and the chaste tree. I'd choose any of them over a callery pear any day of the week and they all bloom on and off all summer and even into autumn.

I planted a salt cedar back in the 90's, I bought it at Cooper's Nursery, which is long gone, here in OKC. The Roto Rooter guy told me it was in a bad spot and would send roots into the sewage system. They had them at TLC last summer when I went to the Moonlight Madness sale (maybe they still do) in large pots marked at close to $50. $50 for a lousy salt cedar???!! They were 20% off but it still seemed high. I thought if I wanted one that bad I'd drive down to one of our local rivers and just dig one out, they are clustered along the river just north of OKC, of course how I'd try getting down there is beyond me and I never did it. If you plant one you do need to watch out because they will search for water and steal it from other plants. So anyway, thats why I don't have one.