NOS
ALBIZIA
PAGE

The genus name is correctly spelled with just one "z"
Copyright 2001-2005. Laurence C. Hatch. All Rights Reserved.
Lawful for online access only by current society members.
All downloading, printing, saving to media, imaging, screen capture, or offline use is prohibited.
Duplication by any means, method, or technology is unlawful.
Do not link to this page.

 

This species is as beautiful as it is flawed. At it's best it is breathtaking and exotically tropical in places not used to such sights. At its worst it will put a hundred seedlings on your property and its sap will erode paint from your new car's "protected" paint. It may suddenly die from wilt and before that put pods, leaves, and other debris all over. But then again it may dazzle you for its charm, elegance, and fine-textured grace. Lots of gardeners can't resist keeping one tree around where it will not be a hazardous mess. Others swear "never again" and curse the neighbor who infested their property with it in the first place. It just may be the most beloved of weed trees.

Larry Hatch

 

JOIN NOW AND
GET THOUSANDS
MORE PLANTS
A TO Z
OVER 2.8 GIGS IN
QUALITY PLANT DATA
AND FULL SCREEN
DIGITAL IMAGES		 DISCOVER THE
ULTIMATE IN
PORTABLE,
NET-BASED,
 PLANT
ENCYCLOPEDIAS,
ONE UPDATED
EVERY WEEK		 Visit
http://stores.ebay.com/HatchArt
to join with
Paypal, check,
money order,
or any major
credit card

Click the NOS logo for
complete society information.

 

Albizia - Breeding Programs

web: Dr. Tom Ranney of North Carolina State University is actively trying to combine the desirable qualities of species and cultivars (purple foliage, weeping, yellow flowers,
web: wilt resistance) with seedlessness (perhaps triploids). We understand the first of these hybrids are now under evaluation

Albizia coreana

click images to enlarge
Two views of the same tree at the Raulston Arboretum in June 2003. The tree starts perhaps a week or 10 days before the more familiar pink species and
at least in this example has a more sturdy, upright growth form. The creamy flowers fade to a distinct and lovely light yellow with a nice bicolor effect in the later days. There are over 100 species in this genus and we in the Western world are just beginning to learn about them. Against the weeping blue atlas cedar the colors in evening are more than beautiful.

click images to enlarge
Same tree as above but June 2005, showng a wider, more robust plant. The yellowish tints come from the base of the inflorescence as the second image illustrates. It reminds me
of golden cotton varieties.

 

Albizia kolkora

click image to enlarge
JC Raulston Arboretum. June 2003. This rare species is virtually unknown in gardens. The upright-arching habit is very good even thought the floral density is well below the A.  julibrissin standard. Flowers are white with pink-tinged filaments. The species is native to India and southwest China. Records indicate this tree was purchased from Woodlanders Nursery, Aiken SC in 1989. click image to enlarge
Same tree as above but in June 2005, showing full blooming peak and some added size. It is very majestic tree and while I do know some very large A. julibrissin, this majestic
charmer is strong and taller than all of them. It is a bit of tropics in the capital of North Carolina. LCH.

 

Albizia julibrissin 'Alba'

fc: pure white, lacking red pigments. There are also very pale pink variants of the species which fade to near white.
lu: it is not as bold or showy as the pink and near red variants but in contrast
lu: with them has merit.

Albizia julibrissin 'Athens County'

fc: pink
ch: less winter dieback in OH USA than clones of southern US origin
in: Glasshouse Works 2001
so: Glasshouse Works

Albizia julibrissin 'Boubri' = 'Ombrella'

ns: this is a commercial name equivalent to 'Ombrella' but not a true cultivar name.

Albizia julibrissin 'Charlotte'

dr: reportedly wilt resistant but some reports cast doubt on this trait in all areas.

Albizia julibrissin 'Cyrano'

ns: a listed name in Europe. No description is known.

Albizia julibrissin 'E.H. Wilson' = 'Ernest Wilson'

 

Albizia julibrissin 'Ernest Wilson' ('E.H. Wilson', 'Rosea')

ht: 10-15 ft.
fc: bright pink
ch: more cold hardy than species typical. By one report up to -15 deg. F.
or: found by Ernest H. Wilson of the Arnold Arboretum well north of the species
or: northern range in Korea in 1918. It was found in the courtyard of the Chosen
or: hotel, showing great hardiness, bright color, and nice form.
ns: we follow Harvard Univ. and the Arnold Arboretum in using this variant
ns: of the cultivar name. While 'Rosea' is generally regarded as synonym of this
ns: Wilson's introduction, the name is used for pink seed strains and is therefore
ns: likely to vary.

Albizia julibrissin 'Fan Silk Flame' ('Fan Silk')

fc: near red tips
ns: may be the same as 'Flame'?
source, photo: RCW Nurseries

Albizia julibrissin 'Flame'

fc: reportedly bright near red
ns: may be the same as 'Fan Silk Flame'

Albizia julibrissin 'Ishii Weeping' ('Pendula') NEW NAME

'Ishii Weeping' ('Pendula') - click image
JC Raulston Arboretum. June 2005. What surprises here is the richness of the flower color. There is no compromise of that account.

ht: 8-10 ft.
ha: strongly weeping, somewhat stiff, spreading at first
fc: stamens bright reddish-pink, not quite a 'Rubra' sort but richer than some species examples
or: Ishii Nursery, Japan
ns: the name 'Pendula' is nowhere published prior to 1959 and must be replaced.
photo, so: Pendulousplants.com (online catalog 2002)

Albizia julibrissin OMBRELLA 'Boubri' ('Umbrella')

ha: umbrella-shaped - however old trees of ordinary clones have this habit with age.
ht: 30-40 ft. where cold hardy
lc: darker green than species typical
fc: dark pink (reddish) tips
prop: tissue cultured clone by one report
tm: unregistered trademark is used in catalogs
pat: US PPAF

Albizia julibrissin 'Pendula' = 'Ishii Weeping'

 

Albizia julibrissin 'Red Silk'

ns: listed with Diacks Nursery of New Zealand as "ALBIZIA JULIBRISSIN RED
ns: SILK". This may not be a cultivar name so much as a common name, in which
ns: case it would be equivalent to 'Rubra'.

Albizia julibrissin 'Rosea' in part='Ernest Wilson'

ns: this name is usually regarded as a synonym of 'Ernest Wilson' but when used
ns: for seed strains it is almost certainly best regarded as a group of colorful
ns: pink variants. The "species typical" is generally pink so the name is partly
ns: superfluous.

Albizia julibrissin 'Rubra'

click image to enlarge
Raulston Arboretum. Spring 2002. 'Rubra' in it's summer glory. This is an untinted photo unlike some catalogs. Not all material under the name 'Rubra' will be this bright or red but such good seedlings are numerous. In 2004 this plant no longer exists.

fc: bright pink to near red

Albizia julibrissin 'Summer Chocolate' (2/02)

click images to enlarge
Raulston Arboretum. June 2003 and May 2005, respectively This foliage color is the future of the genus. That said, I had expected anything loaded with
this much anthocyanin would have dark red or at least very pink stamens. Not so! They are pale creamy-pink and perhaps that avoids some harsh clashes.

lc: dark red becoming reddish-bronze or brown by summer in the old leaves.
or: found by M. Yokoi, Japan c. 1990's

Albizia julibrissin 'Tryon'

dr: reportedly wilt resistant but some reports cast doubt on this trait in all areas.

Albizia julibrissin 'Umbrella' = 'Ombrella'

ns: this translated name is used by Monrovia Nursery (website 2001) but we
ns: prefer to use the original name.

Albizia julibrissin 'Union'

dr: a wilt resistant form

Albizia julibrissin [weeping] = probably 'Ishii Weeping'

ha: pendulous or drooping

Albizia julibrissin [yellow-flowered]

fc: cream to light yellow variants are now reported. Albizia coreana (see images above) has some of these same pigments, especially in the base of the flower.