Regular readers will know I planted a silk tree in spring 2017 and it’s just flowered for the first time (above)!
I was prompted to buy an Albizia having seen the stunning bright pink as Albizia julibrissin Rosea at Harold Hillier gardens (below).
I chose ‘Ombrella’ as it’s rather smaller, only growing to 10-15ft, and whilst I feel a little disappointed by the rather more muted flower colour, I adore the unusual and wonderfully healthy foliage.
According to Burncoose, who I bought it from, it can only withstand temperatures down to 1°C, so I think I should consider myself lucky it survived its first winter!
I wonder how long before it looks like this?
Duver Diary 
That’s lovely, I wonder if I can find a place for one ?
Interesting. I wonder if it is Ombrella particularly that is only hardy to 1C. We have many of them (straight species probably, as they are all volunteers) in our neighborhood. We definitely get below freezing here during the winter, although not usually for more than a week at a time. The fragrance when they are in bloom is stunning, but I weed out too many seedlings to be willing to give it a space in my garden.
I didn’t know you could get different sorts. I grew it from seed a few years ago and it got quite big but was killed one really hard winter. I noticed in France this year that the colour of the flowers varies from pale pink to a lovely dark pink. Does it depend on the variety or is it pot luck?
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