Persian Silk Tree

The Persian Silk Tree (Albizia julibrissin 'Rosea') earns its name every summer evening, when thousands of silky pink powder puff flowers open across a wide umbrella canopy and release a sweet peach like scent into the warm air. It grows fast to about 7m tall and just as wide, with ferny bipinnate leaves that close at dusk and cast the lightest, most pleasant shade of any tree we sell. Birds, bees and butterflies treat a flowering silk tree as an open bar.

Why you'll love it

• A flower unlike anything else. The pink silk puffs smother the canopy through summer, opening fresh each day and perfuming the evening garden.
• Shade you can garden under. The fine ferny canopy filters light rather than blocking it, so lawn and beds thrive beneath.
• Fast to the finish line. Among the quickest ways to a genuine shade tree, with real presence within three or four years.
• Tough beyond its delicate looks. Frost hardy, drought tolerant, heat tolerant and unfussy about soil.
• Wildlife theatre. Honeyeaters by day, moths by night; the nectar traffic is constant while it blooms.

Where it works best

Feature and shade planting. The umbrella habit spreads as wide as the tree is tall, so give it a clear 7m circle over lawn, deck or seating.

Driveways and rural entries. Spaced 7m to 8m apart, silk trees arch into a flowering canopy over a drive within a few years.

Warm and inland gardens. From the subtropics through cool temperate districts, including hot dry summers that stress finer flowering trees.

Growing the Persian Silk Tree in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun for the heaviest flowering. It performs in subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean climates, and established trees shrug off frost.

Soil. Almost any drained soil, including poor and sandy ground. It fixes its own nitrogen, which is part of why it grows so fast on so little.

Water and feed. Water deeply weekly through the first two summers, then it is drought tolerant. Feeding is rarely necessary; rich treatment just makes softer, floppier growth.

Pruning. Shape while young to a single trunk with an even scaffold, then prune in late winter only to manage size and remove crossing limbs. It takes hard pruning well if you inherit an overgrown one.

The honest part

Silk trees drop: spent flowers in summer, leaves in autumn (it is deciduous), and flat seed pods after that. Over lawn and garden this is mulch; over pale paving and pools it is sweeping. The pods are also not safe for pets to chew, so site it away from dog runs, and be aware that in some warm, wet regions self sown seedlings can pop up, easily mown out in a maintained garden.

What to expect when it arrives

Currently offered as advanced 90L stock, grown to order and shown as backorder: we confirm timing with you before anything is charged or shipped, and advanced and large stock is freighted at cost with specialist transport quoted. A 90L tree arrives with a formed trunk and canopy and typically flowers its first or second summer in the ground. Delivery is Australia wide with a minimum order of $300 before delivery, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse all flowering trees
• Compare feature trees
• More deciduous trees

Common questions

How fast does it grow?

Around a metre a year when young, sometimes more with summer water. The trade off for that speed is a softer wooded tree best kept away from rooflines.

Why do the leaves fold up at night?

The ferny leaflets close at dusk and in heavy rain, a natural movement called nyctinasty. It is one of the tree's charms, not a problem.

Is it safe near the house?

Keep it 5m or more from structures and pools: the canopy is wide, the roots are vigorous, and the summer drop belongs over garden, not gutters.

Is it pet safe?

The seed pods are the concern and are not safe for pets to chew. If you have a dog that eats what drops, choose a different feature tree or fence off the drip zone in autumn.