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Growth Facts
- Hardiness Zone: 7-10
- Spacing: 15-20'
- Exposure: Full Sun
- Deer Resistant: Yes
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Summer Chocolate Mimosa
This plant is not available at this time through Bower & Branch. Bower & Branch provides this information for reference only. Please click here to be placed on a waiting list. See below for other selections.
Bower & Branch Mimosa trees only ship from June-October. The Summer Chocolate Mimosa tree looks good enough to eat! With its decadent chocolate-purple foliage, this stunning ornamental tree looks as though it might belong in Willy Wonka’s famous factory. Plant the small- to medium-sized Summer Chocolate Mimosa (a.k.a. Summer Chocolate Silk Tree) in a prominent spot where you and your guests can take in its chocolaty goodness all season long. In summer, pull up a cozy chair under this fast-growing tree’s arching branches and watch the hummingbirds duke it out over the fluffy, cotton-candy-pink flowers. Once you see this gorgeous new tree, you just might find yourself singing, “Don’t care how—I want it NOW!”
Growth Facts
- Hardiness Zone: 7-10
- Spacing: 15-20'
- Exposure: Full Sun
- Deer Resistant: Yes
- Show more ›
Recommended by Our Growers
The Story
Mimosa Trees are native from Iran to Japan, and it was in Japan where Summer Chocolate was discovered, in 1990. Dr. Masato Yokoi was the lucky guy—a plantsman with a special interest in variegated plants (he also introduced the popular variegated ornamental grass called ‘Morning Light’). Summer Chocolate caused quite a stir when it hit the States in 2001. Everyone who saw it wanted one, and many had to settle for putting their name on a waiting list.
The Details
Got your attention, didn't it? The delicate bronzy spring foliage deepens to a rich chocolate-burgundy color in summer that will make you melt! It also produces those same powder puff flowers as the original Mimosa tree. Summer Chocolate attracts hummingbirds and a few passers-by I'm sure. A perfect and unique addition to any garden.
How to Grow
Summer Chocolate isn’t as cold-hardy as regular green-leaved Mimosas, which some early customers found out the hard way. The breaking point is probably around 0°F. Planting it near a warm south-facing wall may afford a few extra precious degrees. In the summer, though, this tree doesn’t like to be babied. It likes full-on blazing sun and dry soil. Mimosas can be struck down by verticillium wilt, and webworm can be a problem, but really, we can’t think of a single gardener who wouldn’t take a chance on this tree if the winters were even close to mild enough. It’s that stunning.
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