As southerners, the beautiful Mimosa tree is quite often the first tree we came to know by name. As children we were captivated by the leaves that closed up at night as if by magic and the soft, fragrant, puffy pink flowers made us sneeze as we tickled our noses with them.
Brought to the U.S. from Asia in 1745, this tropical looking tree took gardeners by storm and, as a result, the Mimosa is found all over the country where it is widely planted as an ornamental tree in parks and gardens. The deciduous tree forms a broad crown that provides highly desirable dappled shade in the hot summers and full sun in the winters. Mimosas burst into full bloom May through July bearing clouds of sweetly fragrant, hot pink, pom-pom like blossoms that are real attention grabbers!