Persian silk tree
Albizia julibrissin
A fast nitrogen-fixing pioneer with feathery foliage that casts soft, dappled shade over understory crops. Handsome and useful, but its wood is brittle and it self-seeds aggressively in warm climates.
Tolerances & traits
- Strata
- High
- Lifecycle
- Secondary
- Soil preference
- Loam, Sandy
- Soil pH range
- 6 – 7.5
- Min. temperature
- -20°C
- Min. rainfall
- 500 mm/year
- Wind tolerance
- Low
- Frost tolerance
- Medium
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Irrigation needed
- Low
How to manage it
Fast nitrogen-fixing pioneer with feathery foliage and light dappled shade; coppice or pollard young to keep wood manageable and encourage bushy resprouting.
Watch out for
Wood is brittle and branches snap in strong wind or storms; corrected strata from Emergent to High (matures 6-12m, not top canopy). Self-seeds heavily and is listed invasive/noxious in parts of the US and other warm regions; can be short-lived due to vascular wilt disease.
Design your line to see how your land fits Persian silk tree.
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