GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post - Albizia Julibrissin Rosea flowering in England ?

Sacha[_1_] · 17-12-2006, 05:26 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening

On 17/12/06 16:33, in article ,
"Emery Davis" wrote:

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I don't think it's the cold per se because as a lad we had a "Mimosa" (as the
yanks
call the silk tree or Albizia julibrissin) growing outside of NY city. It was
a large tree
that always bloomed spectacularly and had no problems at all with the very
tough
winters. I think because the summers there are really hot, too, and of course
the
winters are dryer as well.

I think the wet must be a more significant factor than anything else. I
asked Ray about it and he said that, even here, he doesn't think it's
particularly successful. Certainly it's said not to be hardy but if it can
withstand an NY winter........! Thinking of the 'wet' factor, I know that
the year the one died in my friends' garden in France, they'd had masses of
snow which had lain for weeks, feet deep in places. Perhaps the steady
thawing of that into the roots of their tree, plus cold weather, finished it
off. I'm suspicious of your nurseryman's claims that others he's sold
flower well. How does he know? Our experience is that while customers DO
sometimes remark on things that do particularly well, you hear much quicker
about things that don't!
It sounds as if its requirements might be rather like those of Lagerstroemia
(sp?) which flowers its socks off in Bergerac where summers are pretty hot
and long but where winters can be very windy, apparently. One nurseryman
told us that they tie the trees up in fleece during the winter, even though
they are comparatively mild. We brought a couple back for us and for David
Poole and I think his did pretty well in his v. sheltered, walled garden
whereas ours sulked and only do anything in the greenhouses.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/