How to Manage and Identify the Mimosa Tree

How to Manage and Identify the Mimosa Tree The scientific name for the mimosa is  Albizia julibrissin,  sometimes called Persian silktree and a member of the family Leguminosae. The tree is not native to North America or Europe but was brought into western countries from Asia. Its  genus is named for the Italian nobleman Filippo  Albizzi  who introduced it to Europe around the middle of the 18th century as an ornamental. This fast-growing, deciduous tree has a low branching, open, spreading habit and delicate, lacy, almost fern-like foliage.  These leaves have a beautiful wispy green look during a normally moist summer but start to dry up and drop in early fall. The leaves express no fall color but the tree does display a showy pink flower with a pleasant fragrance. The flowering process starts in the spring and continues throughout the summer. The fragrant, silky, pink puffy pompom blooms, two inches in diameter, appear from late April to early July creating a spectacular sight. Mimosas leaf arrangement is  alternate and the leaf type is both bipinnately compound and odd-pinnately compound. The leaflets are small, are less than 2 inches in length,  have a lanceolate to oblong shape and their leaf margins are ciliate to entire. The leaflet venation is pinnate. This silktree grows to a height of 15 to 25 feet and has a spread that reaches 25 to 35 feet. The crown has an irregular outline or silhouette, has a  spreading, umbrella-like shape and is open and yields a filtered but not full shade. Growing best in full sun locations, Mimosa is not particular as to soil type but has low salt-tolerance. It grows well in both  acid and  alkaline soils. Mimosa tolerates drought conditions well but has a deeper green color and more lush appearance when given adequate moisture. So Whats Not to Like About Mimosa Unfortunately, the tree produces numerous seed pods that are trashy in the landscape when they fall. The tree harbors insect including webworm and a vascular wilt disease that eventually causes the trees death. Although short-lived (10 to 20 years), Mimosa is popular for use as a terrace or patio tree for its light shade and tropical look but also produces a honey-dew drip on property underneath. The trunk, bark, and branches can be a major problem in the landscape. Its trunk bark is thin and easily damaged from mechanical impact.  Branches on mimosa droop as the tree grows and will require pruning for vehicular or pedestrian clearance beneath the canopy multiple trunks. Breakage is always a problem with this multi-trunked tree  either at each crotch due to poor collar formation, or the wood itself is weak and tends to break. The litter problem of the blooms, leaves, and especially the long seed pods requires consideration when planting this tree. Again, the wood is brittle and has a tendency to break during storms though usually, the wood is not heavy enough to cause damage. Typically, most of the root system grows from only two or three large-diameter roots originating at the base of the trunk. These can raise walks and patios as they grow in diameter and makes for poor  transplanting success as the tree grows larger. Unfortunately, Mimosa vascular wilt is becoming a very widespread problem in many areas of the country and has killed many roadside trees. Despite its picturesque growth habit and its beauty when in bloom, some cities have passed ordinances outlawing further planting of this species due to its weed potential and wilt disease problem. Mimosa Is a Major Invasive The tree is an opportunist and  a strong competitor to native trees and shrubs in open areas or forest edges.  The silktree has the  ability to grow in various soil types, the ability to produce large amounts of seed, and an ability to resprout when cut back or damaged. It forms colonies from root sprouts and dense stands that  severely  reduce the sunlight and nutrients available for other plants. Mimosa is often seen along roadsides and open vacant lots in urban/suburban areas and can become a problem along banks of waterways, where its seeds are easily transported in water.   Here are the methods of control: Mechanical Control -  Trees can be cut at ground level with a  power or manual saw and is most effective when trees have begun to flower.   Because mimosa will sucker and resprout you will have to do a follow-up chemical  treatment but on a much smaller scale.Chemical Control - Trees can be controlled by applying a 2% solution of glyphosate (Roundup ®). A  thorough  foliar  application of this herbicide will kill entire plants through leaf and stem uptake to actively growing roots that prevent further cell growth.

Ed Mezvinsky, Father of the Groom - Urban Legends

Ed Mezvinsky, Father of the Groom - Urban Legends A forwarded email attributed to Cincinnati news reporter John Popovich claims that Marc Mezvinsky, Chelsea Clintons new husband, is the son of Edward Mezvinsky, a former Iowa Congressman who was convicted and sent to prison in the early 2000s for fraud. The forwarded email is correct. Description: Viral textCirculating since: August 2010Status: True (details below) Example Email contributed by James H., August 19, 2010: Subject: Birds of a featherFATHER OF THE GROOMBy: John PopovichBefore I came to Cincinnati, I was a news reporter at WOC in Davenport Iowa. I covered a lot of city council and a lot of political stuff. One of the guys I covered was Ed Mezvinsky, who was the Congressman from Iowas first district.Seemed like a pretty nice guy, but when he ditched his wife for a New York reporter, the Iowa voters ditched him.My most vivid memory is that he sat on the House Judiciary Committee that was deciding the fate of President Nixon.Anyway, years later, Fast Eddie got caught with his hand in the till. He cheated investors out of more than $10 million dollars. He went to prison for several years.This weekend, his son married Chelsea Clinton. Analysis True. On July 31, 2010, Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of former president and first lady Bill and Hillary Clinton, was married to Marc Mezvinsky, the son of a former Democratic Congressman, in a Rhinebeck, New York ceremony the press described as lavish. The father of the groom, Edward Ed Mezvinsky, who served four years in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1973 to 1977, indeed went on to serve five years in a federal penitentiary after being convicted of fraud in 2002. According to prosecutors, Mezvinsky crimes included repeatedly defrauding others by misusing attorney escrow accounts held in his name, engaging in schemes involving worthless checks deposited at banks, creating forged bank statements, using false financial statements, tax returns and accountants letters, and giving false testimony under oath. U.S. District Judge Stewart Dalzell ordered him to pay nearly $10 million in restitution to the victims of his scams. The former Congressman was contrite in an interview with the New York Post that took place in July 2010 just before the Clinton-Mezvinsky wedding. Im remorseful for what happened, he said. It was a terrible time, and I was punished for that. And I respect that and accept responsibility for what happened, and now Im trying to move on and am grateful I have the opportunity for that. For purposes of verification, I attempted to contact former Cincinnati newsman John Popovich, to whom the above text is attributed. I received no reply. Update: Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky became parents with the birth of their first child, Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky, on September 26, 2014. Sources and Further Reading Chelsea Clinton Marries Marc MezvinskyPeople, 31 July 2010 Chelsea Clintons Father in Law Lives Down Criminal PastNew York Post, 29 July  2010 Will Father of the Groom Be Welcome Figure at Chelsea Clintons Wedding?ABC News, 1 December 2009 Former Congressman Duped by Nigerian ScamsABC News, 8 December 2006 Mezvinsky Gets 6 Years for FraudPhiladelphia Inquirer, 10 January 2003 Last updated 06/22/15