Mimosa Tree

[Srbenda]

I had a mimosa tree taken down this week.

I suppose they're ok, as long as they don't shed all over your driveway 3 times a year.
A local tree company came out and dropped it for me, and for the bargain price of $75.
They left logs, which I chain-sawed into these rounds. (I used my neighbors Husky saw, what a beast!)

I've never burnt mimosa wood before, but from what I've read, it's ok.
It has a very wide grain to it, as you can see in the photo below, because of it's very fast growth rate.

I'm hoping that also means that it seasons quickly too. I probably ended up with about a 1/4 cord of wood from the tree, so maybe I can birn it in late February, or early March.

 

[Pagey]

That's a wild looking interior!

 

[Srbenda]

That's a wild looking interior!

I am sure it would make some neat looking furniture, but I think the wood is too soft for anything durable.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

It should dry fairly quick if you get it all split asap.

 

[Srbenda]

It should dry fairly quick if you get it all split asap.

Finished splitting it all last night, and it's stacked (and hopefully drying)

 

[billb3]

we had a chocolate mimosa tree given to us by a landscape supplier / greenhouse owner.
He purportedly got a dozen and ours was the only one that lived.
That was five years ago.
I'm just now figuring how I'm supposed to prune this thing because it's getting kind big.
It also has seed pods this year for the first time.

So in reading how / when to prune - I come across all these not too thrilled mimosa owners and I'm wondering if I should prune it at the ground. Ha-ha.

 

[Pagey]

Spray it with a liberal coating of diesel or kerosene.

 

[Srbenda]

we had a chocolate mimosa tree given to us by a landscape supplier / greenhouse owner.
He purportedly got a dozen and ours was the only one that lived.
That was five years ago.
I'm just now figuring how I'm supposed to prune this thing because it's getting kind big.
It also has seed pods this year for the first time.

So in reading how / when to prune - I come across all these not too thrilled mimosa owners and I'm wondering if I should prune it at the ground. Ha-ha.

As long as it's in your yard, and not over some structure/pavement/walkway they are fine.

However, if they are over something manmade, they are much more difficult.

Their spring flowers become glue as soon as they get wet, so on a car, or concrete they are nasty. The seedpods drop in the early fall, creating a huge mess, and then the itty-bitty little leaves fall, and they are impossible to clean, due to their size...

 

[mtarbert]

The pinkish flowers are supposed to have a psydelic properties. I think it is the black seeds in the flowers.

 

[Cluttermagnet]

I burned a lot of Mimosa 1-2 years ago, until I used it up. I consider it well worth splitting and seasoning. It burns like one of the better hardwoods. Not as many BTU's as Oak, but seems to have as much or more than the better grades of Pine- and yet it's a real fast grower. Splits very easy. Coals reasonably well. Seasons fairly fast, but I'd allow at least 6 months for green-cut wood, more is better.

Mimosa is considered a highly invasive species. Although I like it for burning, I'd just as soon harvest it somewhere other than on my own property. Once it gets established, it is very hard to eradicate. Propagates by suckers and by the plentiful seed pods. If you truck soil with those seed pods around to use as fill, you will establish Mimosa at that site, too. The leaves look a lot like Locust leaves- frilly and fern-like, with a lot of little leaves on each branch. The spring flowers are beautiful. On the tree, at least.

The guy who mentioned diesel and kerosene probably wasn't kidding. ;-)