Albizia julibrissin Eveys Pride

Albizia julibrissin 'Evey's Pride' is an improvement on the cultivar 'Summer Chocolate' with better resistance to cold weather, greater vigour, and more abundant flowering. This selection forms a small tree with finely cut deciduous foliage composed of tiny leaflets in extraordinary colours, tender green tinged with bronze darkening to chocolate-purple under the summer sun. It flowers in July-August, with abundant silky red-pink pompoms, almost red, across its crown, at the same time revealing all the beautiful shades of its dark foliage. In addition, it naturally has a spreading umbrella-like habit, perfect for shading a sunny terrace. Hardy down to -15°C (5 °F), it should be planted in full sun, sheltered from cold winds in a light, well-drained, and rather rich soil.

Albizia julibrissin is a small deciduous tree in the Fabaceae family, native from Iran to eastern China. The 'Evey's Pride' variety, also known as 'Evi's Pride', has the same chocolate-purple foliage as 'Summer Chocolate' but stands out for its better performance in terms of resistance, vigour, and floriferousness. If the growing conditions suit, it can reach 4 m (13 ft 1 in) in height with a 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in) spread. It blooms in July-August, producing fluffy and silky inflorescences that have earned it the name of silk tree. They are made up of long, very dark pink stamens, almost red, which are clearly visible, surpassing the rudimentary corollas grouped in heads. The flowers' fragrance is most noticeable up close, powdery and sweet. The flowering gives way to a fruit, a flat pod, 8 to 20 cm (3.1 - 7.9 in) long, initially green then brown, containing 5 to 15 fairly large oval seeds that germinate easily. The leaves, deciduous, initially light green tinged with bronze then chocolate-purple in summer, are alternate and very large, measuring from 15 to 40 cm (5.9 - 15.7 in), hanging beautifully in cascades from drooping branches. Their colour intensifies under the sun. They are cut into large leaflets, themselves subdivided into small leaflets. The bark is thin, grey-green then grey, almost smooth, with whitish lenticels. Finally, and this is a characteristic of plants in the Fabaceae family, the roots form nodosities capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen through specific bacteria present in these organs. The taproot system of this small tree does not tolerate transplanting well. The lifespan of the Albizia is variable, in European climates it usually reaches around thirty years.

The Pink Silk Tree with its majestic and airy silhouette is planted as a standalone tree to provide light shade to a terrace, for example. Albizia 'Evey's Pride' is so compact that it can be considered for container planting in well-exposed urban courtyards. Its blooms enhances its exotic aspect. In mild climates, it can be paired with oleanders and pittosporums. It is important to ensure its hardiness by planting it in well-drained soil, in full sun, and sheltered from prevailing winds and cold drafts.