The Luminous Spirit

  What To Know About Mimosa Trees Persian Silk Tree / Mimosa Trees Latin Name: Albizia julibrissin                                                                 Family: Fabacaea   Growing zone: Albizia is hardy in zones 6 - 9. Grows in rocky or sandy, dry soil that is very acidic. It requires full sun to part shade. Trees will grow fast up to 40 feet tall with a canopy as wide as 32 feet wide within 2-3 years. Most of these mimosa trees have multiple trunks. Trees tend to live about 10 - 20 years at the most because they are susceptible to disease. It has been known to fix nitrogen in the soil. Identifiers: Leaves: Leaves grow in a fern like pattern that produces stems across from one another. They have mini leaves on each of those stems growing directly across from one another as well. These mini leaf petals are ob...

  What all do you need to know about purple deadnettle? Latin Name: Lamium purpureum                      Family: Lamiaceae Growing zone: 4-8 mostly found on roadsides and disturbed ground. It can stand full sun to part shade. Identification: Annual that is pollinated by bees and it is a hermaphrodite. It likes light sandy - clay soil. Prefers well draining moist soil. Single stem that grows ½” to 2 ½” tall. In my yard where it is growing has reached every bit of 8 inches tall. Mostly shade and heavily fertilized. The stem: is square and can be a green to a reddish purple with tiny hair like fuzz on it. Lower 3rd of the stem has no leaves on it. Leaves: Young leaves are scalloped and wrinkly Underside is very hairy which makes them unappealing to most that are trying to consume. The leaves are reddish purple and as they age they become more green. They are densely crowded and each pair of leaves rotate 90 degrees from the...

 W hat to know about Mullein Photo above: Common Mullein in the first year Latin Name: Verbascum thapsus                                             Family: Scrophulariaceae Growing zone : 3-9 and prefers partial sun and dry soil.  It is very hard to transplant because of its long taproot. In the spring you can find saplings from the previous years plants near the brown stalks that were once the flowers. You can gather the seeds and plant them in the fall. Identification:   Leaves : are soft and fuzzy like a teddy bear or velvet. They grow low to the ground in the first year and only foliage. First year they stay pretty small so on average no more than about 6-10 inches in circumference. The leaves are oblong and have a rounded point at the tip. They are silvery green gray in color. The l...