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Mimosa trees

WillowBarkWillowBark Posts: 243
in Plants
A couple of houses near us have mimosa trees in their front gardens, with absolutely stunning yellow blossom. Having had a quick look online, it looks like these eventually grow into really huge trees. Does anyone know if there are any dwarfing varieties available at all? I think the answer is probably "no", but I thought it was worth asking just in case. I have a tiny garden, but I dream big!
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  • rachelQrtJHBjbrachelQrtJHBjb Posts: 819
    Found one! https://paddockplants.co.uk/shrubs/acacia-nano-dealbata 
    Available this Spring
  • WillowBarkWillowBark Posts: 243
    @rachelQrtJHBjb Ah, that's fantastic, thank you so much! They are out of stock at the moment, but I have popped myself on the notification list :) Thanks for your help.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Just a word of warning.

    We have two of these things inherited when we moved here a few years ago.  The foliage is a dull glaucous blue for 52 weeks of the year.  In late winter/early spring there is a blaze of bright yellow blossom which lasts a couple of weeks then starts to turn brown.  Then it looks awful for a few weeks till it gets blown of and then you get lots of babies making a  thicket at their feet.

    We have pruned ours to shape them and remove lower branches that threaten decapitation when we're mowing the grass and we now spend ages every year cutting out or digging up unwanted youngsters.

    If your garden is small enough to need a dwarf version it's small enough to need a tree that works harder for its living and will provide interest from form, bark colour, foliage, blossom etc.

    Feb 2017


    Feb 2018 thinned and with the crown lifted and forest below removed.

    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • WillowBarkWillowBark Posts: 243
    @Obelixx Very useful to know, thank you. I shall bear it in mind when deciding if to get one or not. May need a bit more thought than first anticipated!
  • WillowBarkWillowBark Posts: 243
    @Obelixx Your tree does look stunning now you have shaped it and cleared beneath. A beautiful photo.
  • MolamolaMolamola Posts: 105
    @Obelixx I agree your tree is beautiful! Interesting to know about its seeds germinate so easily.  I would love an Acacia for my garden if I could, but I do not like the foilage of the Dealbata and the ones I do like - with willow like leaves - probably prefer a warmer climate to mine.

    @WillowBark Pepiniere Cavatore is a mimosa specialist and there are many smaller specimens listed on their site.  I found it a great resource.  https://www.mimosa-cavatore.fr/ 
  • WillowBarkWillowBark Posts: 243
    @Molamola Thank you for the link, that's great; I shall have a read.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    @Molamola our last garden was in Belgium, near Gembloux.  No way a mimosa would have survived there.

    @WillowBark that tree is hidden from our house by the ruin of the old farmhouse so I can cope.  The other is at the bottom of the garden behind what has become our potager.   It self seeds all over and even sends babies up into our polytunnel runners or old seeds taking advantage but a PITA either way.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • MolamolaMolamola Posts: 105
    @Obelixx That's what I'm worried about.  My garden is a small urban enclosed space that is overlooked by houses and is my next project after I am done with my front balcony.  I don't know yet what kind of plants its microclimate will support but an Acacia might be ambitious given the sub-zero temperatures we had this winter.  My eventual plan is to visit a specialist small-tree nursery and have a browse (:
  • ButtercupdaysButtercupdays Posts: 4,546
    I've got an A.dealbata, that I've grown on from a baby, in a pot.
    The pot is making it a sort of bonsai, but it would be pointless to plant one outside here, as -12c is a regular occurence and in early Feb it was even colder. I rather doubt if it will ever get to flowering size living in my greenhouse, but the foliage is pretty and it has presence. Flowers would be icing on the cake :)
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