Red Mimosa

Red Mimosa#9311

By Adam -  Sun May 03, 2009 6:37 am
Posts:  2892
Joined:  Sat Dec 13, 2008 4:39 am

- Sun May 03, 2009 6:37 am #9311

When I got my tiny Mimosa plant it was nice and green. It was in a very tiny pot. I repotted it into a much bigger pot using some leftover CP mix. Well, it's been 3 weeks or so since then and now I'm noticing red branches and red edges to all the leaves!

So my guess is that acidic soils give plants some reason to turn red?

Re: Red Mimosa#9325

By renesis -  Sun May 03, 2009 1:28 pm
Posts:  374
Joined:  Tue Apr 21, 2009 7:37 pm

- Sun May 03, 2009 1:28 pm #9325

Yes... in a way.

At low pH, phosporus (among other nutrients) is very unavailable, and this brings out a red-purple colour in the leaves when its deficient. I would work on bringing that pH up for the mimosa.

Here's a handy soil-less media chart for reference too:

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Re: Red Mimosa#9351

By Adam -  Sun May 03, 2009 6:19 pm
Posts:  2892
Joined:  Sat Dec 13, 2008 4:39 am

- Sun May 03, 2009 6:19 pm #9351

Thanks for that info! How would one up the ph? Here's what it looks like:

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Re: Red Mimosa#9357

By lozone31 -  Sun May 03, 2009 7:47 pm
Posts:  143
Joined:  Tue Apr 07, 2009 11:36 pm

- Sun May 03, 2009 7:47 pm #9357

well perhaps, as you can see in that chart in normal conditions there is not very much iron in the mixture, which is the mineral that makes blood red. Maybe it is since in acidic soil there is a large amount of iron available that the plant is taking that in and that is what makes it red.

Just a theory. I would be interested in knowing what it is that actually makes a plant turn red.

Re: Red Mimosa#9360

By NZL -  Sun May 03, 2009 8:30 pm
Posts:  489
Joined:  Thu Apr 09, 2009 9:28 am

- Sun May 03, 2009 8:30 pm #9360

Adam, to Up pH add KOH or potassium hydroxide in your soil.
Dissolved in water ofcourse

Potassium is a basic nutrient for the plant, and the hydroxide increases pH.

Niels.

"We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special." - Stephen Hawking

Re: Red Mimosa#9372

By renesis -  Sun May 03, 2009 11:31 pm
Posts:  374
Joined:  Tue Apr 21, 2009 7:37 pm

- Sun May 03, 2009 11:31 pm #9372

Yep, iron could also be building up.

Are you feeding as well? Since there is hardly any nutrition in peat/sand/perlite mixes- you will definitely need some added nutrition. Also lime (CaCO3) is a good way to bring up pH.

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Re: Red Mimosa#9374

By Adam -  Sun May 03, 2009 11:42 pm
Posts:  2892
Joined:  Sat Dec 13, 2008 4:39 am

- Sun May 03, 2009 11:42 pm #9374

It seems to be growing fine in terms of size. It gets tons of direct sunlight. Should I bother making the soil nutritious?

Re: Red Mimosa#9401

By NZL -  Mon May 04, 2009 4:59 am
Posts:  489
Joined:  Thu Apr 09, 2009 9:28 am

- Mon May 04, 2009 4:59 am #9401

Adam wrote:Should I bother making the soil nutritious?

With KOH it can't hurt. CaCO3 i'm not sure, because it's less soluble and thus builds up in the soil.

Solubilities under normal atmospheric conditions:
KOH: 1210 g/L
CaCO3: 47 g/L

Niels.

"We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special." - Stephen Hawking

Re: Red Mimosa#9418

By renesis -  Mon May 04, 2009 11:48 am
Posts:  374
Joined:  Tue Apr 21, 2009 7:37 pm

- Mon May 04, 2009 11:48 am #9418

Yup, CaCO3 will stay within the media. Its a one-time application only thing and will continue to neutralize acids and buffer the pH.

If you are okay with the growing pace, leave it as is- but keep a close eye for any signs of trouble.

These guys here were started from seed last August, not mimosas - but a very close relative of them. Can you guess which one had nutrition?

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Re: Red Mimosa#9446

By Adam -  Mon May 04, 2009 8:16 pm
Posts:  2892
Joined:  Sat Dec 13, 2008 4:39 am

- Mon May 04, 2009 8:16 pm #9446

Cool. Does that one fold it's leaves when touched or when it's night time?

Re: Red Mimosa#9474

By renesis -  Mon May 04, 2009 11:54 pm
Posts:  374
Joined:  Tue Apr 21, 2009 7:37 pm

- Mon May 04, 2009 11:54 pm #9474

You got it. It shuts down at night.

Its a silk tree - Alibizia sp.

They grow upwards of 40ft in warm climates. Not too sure how these will do, they survived one winter indoors with slow growth so far.

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Re: Red Mimosa#9482

By Adam -  Tue May 05, 2009 3:30 am
Posts:  2892
Joined:  Sat Dec 13, 2008 4:39 am

- Tue May 05, 2009 3:30 am #9482

Nice. I'm hoping to make my Mimosa survive a winter. I'll probably increase it's pot size in a couple of months with regular soil.

Re: Red Mimosa#9630

By lozone31 -  Wed May 06, 2009 3:55 pm
Posts:  143
Joined:  Tue Apr 07, 2009 11:36 pm

- Wed May 06, 2009 3:55 pm #9630

Hey I found out something pretty cool about making your soil acidic with vinegar!

Increase soil acidity:
In hard water areas, add a cup of vinegar to a gallon of tap water for watering acid loving plants like rhododendrons, gardenias or azaleas. The vinegar will release iron in the soil for the plants to use.

If you ever need to increase the acidicy there you go.

Re: Red Mimosa#9869

By sweetlouis121 -  Sun May 10, 2009 4:56 pm
Posts:  37
Joined:  Mon Apr 13, 2009 9:14 pm

- Sun May 10, 2009 4:56 pm #9869

COOL!

My Mimosa is really small right now but everytime I touch it, the leave like fall but then they come back like 2 minutes later. I'm gonna try growing it in CP mix now.

Re: Red Mimosa#9893

By Adam -  Sun May 10, 2009 8:57 pm
Posts:  2892
Joined:  Sat Dec 13, 2008 4:39 am

- Sun May 10, 2009 8:57 pm #9893

i'm going to repot mine in regular soil with fertilizer and see how long it takes for it to lose is redness.

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Red Mimosa#9311

Re: Red Mimosa#9325

Re: Red Mimosa#9351

Attachments:

Re: Red Mimosa#9357

Re: Red Mimosa#9360

Re: Red Mimosa#9372

Re: Red Mimosa#9374

Re: Red Mimosa#9401

Re: Red Mimosa#9418

Re: Red Mimosa#9446

Re: Red Mimosa#9474

Re: Red Mimosa#9482

Re: Red Mimosa#9630

Re: Red Mimosa#9869

Re: Red Mimosa#9893

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