Albizia julibrissin - Silk Tree

The Silk-Tree (Albizia julibrissin) with its delicately scented flowers is an attractive exotic plant for the garden. Long stamen make the flowers look like a pink powder puff. Also, the pinnately (feather-like) divided leaves add to the elegant appearance of the tree. At night or in case of drought the leaves fold together (hence its common name ‘sleeping tree’ in some languages), by day they unfold again and offer a shady place to relax. Albizia julibrissin will grow in a garden as well as in an unheated or kept cool greenhouse. Their hardyness is proofed by two Silk-Trees in Frankfurt Palmengarten (Germany), where the trees have developed a beautiful umbrella-like crown. The basis for successfully growing a Silk-Tree in a garden is a well- draining, sandy to gravelly and humous soil. Loamy soil might damage the roots by waterlogging. During the first years after planting it is advisable to protect the trunk from cracks in the bark by shading it with jute or fleece . Also, one should cover the roots with fallen leaves.

Quality: pink-white brush-like flowers in large numbers; elegant umbrella-like crown with fine pinnate leaves; exotic tree for the garden
Use: planted in the garden; in pots from April to October outside on balcony, terrace and in the garden - during winter in an unheated room in the house