Albizia Silk Tree Seeds (Albizia julibrissin)

Albizia julibrissin

Silk tree, Constantinople acacia, night mimosa, silk tree: this last nickname comes from its pom-pom flowers, made up of long, silky pink stamens that seem embroidered with thread. Its fern-like foliage folds up every evening and in cloudy weather, a plant-sleep movement that gives it its other name.

Characteristics:

• Umbrella-shaped growth: small deciduous tree standing 5 to 10 metres tall, with a very elegant, spreading silhouette that provides light shade.
• Summer flowering: silky, fragrant pink pom-poms from June to August, highly attractive to bees.
• Sensitive foliage: finely divided like a fern's, it closes at night.

Sowing advice:

• Position: full sun, in a warm spot sheltered from cold winds.
• Soil: light, sandy or stony, and above all very well drained. It tolerates poor, chalky soils but dislikes heavy soil and stagnant winter moisture. No fertiliser: it is a legume and produces its own nitrogen.
• Method: its seed coat is very hard. Soak the seeds for 24 hours in lukewarm water, or apply cold stratification for 4 to 6 weeks. Then sow in spring in light, well-draining compost, in bright light.

Planting advice:

• Transplant into the ground after the last frosts, in a sunny permanent position: it does not tolerate late transplanting well.
• Allow for its mature spread, as its canopy often grows wider than it is tall.

Care advice:

• Water moderately, spacing out watering once the plant is established: it becomes highly drought-resistant. Hardy down to -12 °C once well established, it needs protection during its first winters.

Beneficial combinations:

• It pairs very well with ornamental grasses such as blue fescue, or with true lavender in a dry, bright garden. See our drought-resistant plants.

Benefits for biodiversity:

• Its summer flowering is a magnet for pollinators: bees, bumblebees and butterflies flock to it throughout the summer, at a time when food sources are becoming scarce.
• As a legume, it fixes atmospheric nitrogen and naturally enriches the soil around it — see the basics of living soil.

Uses:

• Primarily ornamental: as a standalone tree, in rows or as a centrepiece. Its light shade allows plants to be grown beneath it, unlike trees with dense canopies.

Symbolism:
Albizia symbolises joy, the sweetness of life and the awakening of the senses. In some Asian cultures, it is associated with rest and serenity — in China, its name literally means “tree of conjugal happiness”.

Harvesting your own seeds:
After flowering, the tree produces long, flat pods that turn brown in autumn. Harvest them once dry, open them and store the seeds in a dry place: their hard seed coats ensure very long storage. See storing your seeds.

Commitment to Quality: at SemiSauvage - Permaculture, we grow and select our seeds with respect for all living things as our guiding principle. Based near the Auvergne volcanoes, we choose reproducible, non-hybrid varieties, tested for their germination rate, carefully sorted and packaged, without any chemical treatment. Our belief: to give gardeners back the ability to resow, year after year, seeds that truly belong to them.

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