AlterNATIVE: Native Trees Instead of Mimosa

Every year I remind people that the mimosa trees (Albizia julibrissin) that bloom in May and June are not native. I do this via a Facebook page for native plants. Every year, I brace myself for the inevitable comments that follow:

• ‘I grew up with it and it reminds me of childhood.’
• ‘It’s so pretty and graceful.’
• ‘Hummingbirds love it.’
• ‘It’s not invasive in my yard!’
• ‘Why can’t we all just get along?’ (they never say that about kudzu)

That annual post is a sad reminder that we still have more work to do on helping people to understand why invasive plants – the ones that can spread themselves from place to place – contribute to the decline in insect and bird populations. How do invasive plants contribute to a decline in birds and insects? They do it by decreasing the diversity of plants that can feed native insects and birds.

In the wild, on unmanaged roadsides, mimosa trees create huge canopies on the sunny edges, reducing space for native trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants that would grow there otherwise. Grasses, goldenrods, and other native flowering plants would be feeding insects and birds throughout the year. One person always comments that it is simply a ‘pioneer plant’ and not invasive, but it out-competes native pioneer plants regardless of how you describe it.

Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)

This year, one person asked for recommendations of native trees that might have a similar look for those who admire it. That question is what has inspired me to write this blog. My recommendations would fall into two aspects: 1) The person wants a medium-sized tree with a spreading growth habit, or 2) The person wants a tree that blooms in the summer.

We don’t have many native trees that bloom in the summer but I do have a recommendation: sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum). Now that happens to be an awesome tree for a variety of reasons, over and above the presence of summer blooms. First, it’s perfectly at home in a large part of Georgia, going as far south as the Florida border on the western side of the state. It may be under-reported on the eastern side of Georgia because it is quite widespread in our neighboring Coastal Plain states of Alabama and South Carolina. The blooms are much loved by bees, both native and honey bees, so it has good wildlife value. Finally, the fall color is just plain awesome while the fall color on mimosa is non-existent.

One other June-blooming plant is a large shrub that is tree-like: buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), shown with accidental butterfly in front of it (wink). It likes a moister environment, growing even in wet areas like pond/lake edges, but it would definitely give you gorgeous flowers in the same timeframe. My neighbor has one next to a pond and it is quite large now and always covered in bumble bees and butterflies when blooming.

Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum)

Alternative trees with spreading branches, but which bloom in spring instead, include two of our native dogwoods: flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) and pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia).

Pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia)

Two other recommendations of trees with spreading branches are Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) and any of the species of serviceberry (Amelanchier sp.). I have also found that my bigleaf snowbell (Styrax grandifolius) has a nice shape as well.

These are recommendations that Georgians throughout the state can consider as better alter-NATIVES for trees like mimosa. So while you’re looking at mimosas on the roadside now, start dreaming about planting a nice native tree this fall. And in case you are not sure what mimosa is, here's a picture of it from near my house.

Non-native Albizia julibrissin