Overwintering a chocolate silk tree indoors?

Discussion in 'HortForum' started by greenpassion, Sep 4, 2011.

  1. greenpassion

    greenpassion Member

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    I live in z5, and have a beautiful mimosa chocolate silk tree in a pot on my deck. I bought bare root this past spring, and it's now around 4ft tall, and doing great. No flowers yet but who cares. Anyway, I want to know if I can bring it indoors to overwinter it, or should I try to make it go dormant in my cool basement? Anyone out there know anything about this?
     
  2. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    Keep it awake and treat it as a houseplant over the winter.
     
  3. greenpassion

    greenpassion Member

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    Thank you. Have you done this with one? I see you live in a much much warmer zone than I do. I'm zone 5, and it's definatly not tropical here. I could bring it in and put it under one of my T5 light fixtures, or, I could try it in front of my living room window. It's a picture window that faces east. Not a lot of light, but it has sufficed for a large jade and a chinese evergreen....Which do you suggest I do?
     
  4. greenpassion

    greenpassion Member

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    What zone for Chocolate Mimosa (silk) tree?

    I live in zone 5, and have a 3ft. Chocolate silk tree doing great potted on my deck. I thought I'd read somewhere that it can't take the cold. In Vermont the winters are fairly harsh and I thought I'd have to find a way to overwinter it inside. But, on older posts here, (that I can't reply to) I'm reading people from Canada have them growing in the ground. ?? Isn't it just about as cold in Canada as here? Can I leave this little tree outside??
     
  5. saltcedar

    saltcedar Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    Re: What zone for Chocolate Mimosa (silk) tree?

    It's probably too cold where you are unless like the Canadian Carolinian
    zone you have a large warm body of water to temper Winter lows.
    http://www.carolinian.org/FactSheets_CCUniqueness.htm
    If you have an unheated basement or garage you might over winter it there.
     
  6. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    I'm from Zone 2b/3a originally; it's what I used to do with my mimosa tree. I'd go with the T5 - the chill from the window will make it grumpy, and the last thing you want is a grumpy mimosa.
     
  7. greenpassion

    greenpassion Member

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    Thanks again lorax!
     

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