Rusty Mimosa Apr 4

Our suburban homestead had the most beautiful mimosa tree in the front yard. Its flowers were an unusual bright coral color and for years people stopped to ask what we fed it that caused the vibrant color. The answer was nothing at all. I came across an internet site with a photo and Latin name of the exact strain of this Chinese tree. The name is lost in some corner of my harddrive so I may have to start all over. Rusty, my inimitable father, eventually cut it down when an oak sapling proved it was going to survive in that general area but every three years it came back.

I gathered a lot of seeds a few years ago. They need to spend 5 months in the refrigerator so they think it's Winter and then an edge is chipped with a sharp knife and they're planted. Most usually sprouted but I'd get busy and forget them and none got taller than a foot before withering and dying. Last Fall I found I had a dozen seeds left. I put 4 or 5 in a baggie in the fridge and planted them in March. One came up and here it is a month later. Let's hope I'm neither too busy to watch or overwater this guy.