While working on a project in the front garden, I found I needed my shovel, which I'd left in the back garden. On the fly, I decided to take a moment to dig up the mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin) seedling I'd noticed a few days earlier. I'd removed a seedling from the same spot just weeks before and, assuming that I simply hadn't gotten the entire root when I pulled it out, I thought all I needed to do was to move the flagstone adjacent to the new seedling to ensure I got the whole thing. I figured that was a 5-minute task.
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| The lush green foliage was impressive, especially as it was growing in an extremely dry area where even succulents struggled to survive. I thought, if I could get enough of the root out intact, I might pot it up and offer it to neighbors in one of my plant giveaways. |
I moved the flagstone and started digging only to meet immediate resistance. Digging along the sides of the plant, I discovered the root of the problem and called in reinforcements to help me get it out.
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| After removing a second flagstone, this is the root my husband uncovered |
I can only hope we got the majority of it. But, if there was one root this size 8 to 10 feet from the trunk of the dying mimosa tree we'd taken down last October, is it reasonable to believe that there aren't other roots like this? Is this mimosa tree going to haunt me forever? According to one source, "Silktree...regenerates by sprouting from roots following top-kill or injury." Halloween is still more than a month away but that citation sent a chill down my spine.
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| This gives you a better sense of the root's size |
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| This shows the plant growing straight up from the root itself |
It seems that the self-sown seedlings I've previously found are the tip of the iceberg. Let the reader beware when planting this tree!
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| Needless to say, I didn't offer the mimosa's offspring to any of my neighbors. It went into the trash. |
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