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lostsoul62

Mimosa Tree

lostsoul62
10 years ago

I have a Mimosa Tree planted 3 feet from my sidewalk and 2 planted 4 feet from my driveway. I planted them last year so should I tear them out or can I just cut the roots as they approach the sideway and driveway?

Comments (5)

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    10 years ago

    whats the goal???? .. why are we doing this ...

    you are not going to defeat an aggressive tree by cutting roots on one side ...

    if you just planted them last fall .. they should be rather easy to dig back out ... early spring is the best time to do such ...

    and once you do that.. you either get rid of them..

    or move them to a more appropriate spot ...

    i have no experience with these.. but seem to think.. they are on no ones favored tree list .... if so ... get rid of them ...

    i realize you probably spent good money on them... and dont want to lose the investment.. but a mistake is a mistake ... we have all been there at one time or another ...

    lets see my list would be: fast growing poplar; pines planted too close to the house; planting invasive when i didnt know better; oh i am sure.. the list could go on forever ...

    but no problem is ever cured.. until you destroy the problem ... trust me.. you arent going to win against mother nature .. in the long run .... by cutting and pruning

    ken

  • rusty_blackhaw
    10 years ago

    3-4 feet from the driveway is probably too close for planting mimosa trees (Albizzia julibrissin), mostly because they have low spreading branches that will eventually interfere with traffic on the driveway.

    Mimosas are less weedy (and less prone to disease, apparently) near the northern extreme of their range, so I don't see anything wrong with growing one (or a few if you have room) for the sake of the blooms, which are spectacular in season.

    I confess I have a seedling "E.H.Wilson" which is a couple years old, and probably will have died back some due to our multiple subzero winter lows. Still worth a trial (and should be less prone to dieback once it gets a few years growth under its belt (and assuming -19F winters are not going to become the new norm)).

    Good luck with your trees.

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    10 years ago

    Lostsoul62, where are you located? I've seen your screen name with Arkansas, 10 (as in hardiness zone 10?), and 6 (as in hardinss zone 6?) following it. I'm going to guess Arkansas, but only extreme northern areas of Arkansas are zone 6, and there are no zone 10 areas in Arkansas. So, I am a little confused. Even at the very northern edge of Arkansas, you wouldn't be anywhere remotely close to "the northern extreme of (Albizia julibrissin's) range" though.

    Also, depending on your location, there is some possibility we are not talking about Albizia julibrissin, even though I'm guessing we are. Albizia julibrissin is not in the Mimosa genus, but is commonly called mimosa, at least in this part of the country.

    Albizia julibrissin has become a significant environmental problem in Tennessee (east or northeast from Arkansas) and is now listed as a "Severe Threat" by the Tennessee EPPC! Next to Kudzu, it's one of the most problematic plants in Tennessee (way worse than the frequently hated Bradford Pear). Planting one of these around here is about as environmentally irresponsible as you can get, so far as planting something goes. My suggestion would be to eliminate the plant from your landscape.

  • lostsoul62
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I forgot to change the zone because it's always at zone 10 so I live in zone 6 and I bought this house last year and there is a large Bradfore Pear tree and if it gives me any problems I'll just get rid of it and I have 3 mimosa trees which are small so I guess I'll just get rid of them because 3 or 4 feet from the sidewalk I guess won't work.

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    10 years ago

    If you'll post your exact location (nearest city would be fine) and maybe a little bit about your yard (a few pictures would probably help) in a new thread titled something about needed tree recommendations, I bet you'd get all kinds of input on some neat trees to grow. There are so many awesome trees out there, that it's a shame to be stuck with Bradfords and mimosas. I know quite a bit about trees, but I often see trees talked about here that I hadn't thought about in a long time. Occasionally, I see stuff mentioned that I've never even heard of. There lots and lots of choice out there.

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