Persian silk tree
Albizia julibrissin
Persian silk tree is a fast-growing, deciduous small tree native to a broad arc from Iran and the Caucasus east through China and Korea, prized for its show-stopping pink powder-puff flowers in summer and delicate, fern-like bipinnate foliage. It thrives in hot, dry, sunny sites and establishes quickly, making it a striking focal-point specimen in zones 6b-9b. The honest catches are several: in the southeastern United States it is a documented invasive weed, seeding prolifically and escaping into roadsides and forest margins; it is short-lived in much of its US range due to mimosa vascular wilt (Fusarium); and its seeds, bark, and leaves contain toxic compounds, so fallen seedpods should be kept away from children and pets.
Climate fit: narrow (26/100)
Focal point
Pollinator
Structure
Light
Full sun
Water
Low water
Mature size
192-480" tall · 360" apart
Hardy in zones
6b-9b
cold to frosty winters
Native in Illinois
No
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Insect-pollinated — Wikipedia reports the nectar-rich flowers 'have been observed to attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.' Cross-visitation by insects is the norm, but the tree sets seed abundantly even as an isolated specimen, a major driver of its invasive behaviour.
Cold hardiness
These values are location-based: this location's current hardiness is the baseline, and the 2050 value is a projected future climate for this same location.
Now
Zone 6b
Plotwright
USDA Zone 6b
-5°F to 0°F
Marginal
Zone 7a
Plotwright
0°F to 5°F
Well-suited
In plain terms: This location has cold winters. Its winters are projected to keep warming through 2050.
⚠→✓
A marginal fit today, but a stronger fit by 2050.
Heat tolerance
Heat tolerance values are location-based too: heat days today are observed at this site, and the 2050 value projects this same location under a future climate.
Loading AHS heat-zone data for this location...
Where this plant fits
Suitable across 39 ecoregions — 38 climate-resilient through 2070 · 1 suited today. Best matches first.
Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests
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Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests
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Arizona Mountains forests
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Atlantic coastal pine barrens
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Blue Mountains forests
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Canadian Aspen forests and parklands
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Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests
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Central Tallgrass prairie
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Central-Southern Cascades Forests
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Chilean Matorral
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Plant this, not that
Better fit for this place
For Chicago, IL, these are replacement suggestions: similar plants with a stronger hardiness fit now and/or in 2050.
Prunus serotina
Black cherry
The largest native cherry of eastern North America — a medium-to-large deciduous shade tree that hangs elongated racemes of small white flowers in spring, then ripens drooping strings of pea-sized fruit from red to near-black in late summer. The fragrant white bloom feeds bees while the fruit is eaten by 33 species of birds and many mammals; it is also a workhorse larval host, supporting the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and a string of giant silk and sphinx moths. Every part except the ripe fruit is cyanide-bearing and toxic.
Better current fit; still holds in 2050
Now: well-suited
2050: well-suited
Hamamelis virginiana
Common witch hazel
A unique native shrub or small tree of eastern North American woodland margins, producing fragrant yellow strappy-petaled flowers in October through December when nothing else is blooming — the only North American native pollinated primarily by noctuid moths in cold weather. Yellow fall foliage doubles as background to the late-season bloom. Host for the witch hazel dagger moth (Acronicta hamamelis) larvae.
Better current fit; still holds in 2050
Now: well-suited
2050: well-suited
Tilia americana
American basswood
A medium-to-large native shade tree of central and eastern North America, reaching 50-80 feet with an ovate-rounded crown and large, asymmetric heart-shaped leaves. In June it carries pale-yellow, intensely fragrant flowers on pendulous cymes — each cluster hung from a distinctive strap-like leafy bract — that ripen into pea-sized nutlets. The fragrant June bloom is a premier nectar source: Missouri Botanical Garden lists it as attracting bees and butterflies, and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center flags it as having special value to both native and honey bees.
Better current fit; still holds in 2050
Now: well-suited
2050: well-suited
Cercis canadensis
Eastern redbud
A small native multi-trunked deciduous tree of eastern and central North America, beloved for its dense early-spring display of magenta-pink pea-shaped flowers borne directly on bare branches before leaf-out. Heart-shaped foliage all summer, yellow fall color, and ecological value as host for 12 species of Lepidoptera larvae. Visited by the southeastern blueberry bee (Habropoda laboriosa) — a documented early-spring forager, though its true host-specialization is on Vaccinium (blueberry), not Cercis.
Better current fit; still holds in 2050
Now: well-suited
2050: well-suited
Similar plants
Browse lateral options with similar roles, light needs, size, or native-range overlap; these are not filtered for a better climate fit.
Tilia americana
American basswood
A medium-to-large native shade tree of central and eastern North America, reaching 50-80 feet with an ovate-rounded crown and large, asymmetric heart-shaped leaves. In June it carries pale-yellow, intensely fragrant flowers on pendulous cymes — each cluster hung from a distinctive strap-like leafy bract — that ripen into pea-sized nutlets. The fragrant June bloom is a premier nectar source: Missouri Botanical Garden lists it as attracting bees and butterflies, and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center flags it as having special value to both native and honey bees.
Ilex opaca
American holly
The only native U.S. holly with both spiny green leaves and bright red berries — an upright, pyramidal, broadleaf evergreen tree that slowly matures to 15-30 feet in cultivation (to 50 feet in the wild). Thick, leathery, deep green leaves bear spiny marginal teeth, and pollinated female trees carry showy red-to-orange drupes that ripen in fall and persist through winter as bird food. This is the classic "Christmas holly" of wreaths and decorations.
Diospyros virginiana
American persimmon
A tough, medium-sized native tree of the eastern and midwestern United States, grown as much for its showy edible orange fruit as for its distinctive thick, dark gray bark broken into rectangular blocks. Small urn-shaped white-to-greenish-yellow flowers open in May and June, and the sweet fruit ripens after frost. Largely dioecious — a female tree needs a male pollinizer nearby to set fruit — and notably drought- and walnut-tolerant once established.
Prunus americana
American plum
A small native deciduous tree (or thicket-forming, suckering shrub) of eastern and central North America, grown for clouds of fragrant white 5-petaled flowers that open in March before the leaves and for the edible red plums that follow in early summer. It forms a broad, spreading crown with attractive dark reddish-brown twigs that sometimes carry thorny lateral branchlets. A documented larval host for swallowtails and other butterflies, with flowers of special value to native, bumble, and honey bees.
Prunus serotina
Black cherry
The largest native cherry of eastern North America — a medium-to-large deciduous shade tree that hangs elongated racemes of small white flowers in spring, then ripens drooping strings of pea-sized fruit from red to near-black in late summer. The fragrant white bloom feeds bees while the fruit is eaten by 33 species of birds and many mammals; it is also a workhorse larval host, supporting the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and a string of giant silk and sphinx moths. Every part except the ripe fruit is cyanide-bearing and toxic.
Crataegus monogyna
Common hawthorn
Common hawthorn is a deciduous, thorny small tree or large shrub native to Europe, northwestern Africa, and western Asia, where it has been used for centuries as stock-proof hedging and valued for its May blossom and autumn haws. In the garden it earns its keep as a tough wildlife powerhouse — a single mature tree can support hundreds of invertebrate species, and the haw crop sustains thrushes and waxwings through winter (Wikipedia). The honest catch is the thorns: they are genuinely sharp (up to 12.5 mm), making pruning painful and placing it off-limits near paths and play areas; the tree is also considered invasive in parts of the Pacific Northwest, Australia, and New Zealand where it outcompetes native scrub.
Educator packet
Plant packet
Persian silk tree educator packet
Persian silk tree is a fast-growing, deciduous small tree native to a broad arc from Iran and the Caucasus east through China and Korea, prized for its show-stopping pink powder-puff flowers in summer and delicate, fern-like bipinnate foliage. It thrives in hot, dry, sunny sites and establishes quickly, making it a striking focal-point specimen in zones 6b-9b. The honest catches are several: in the southeastern United States it is a documented invasive weed, seeding prolifically and escaping into roadsides and forest margins; it is short-lived in much of its US range due to mimosa vascular wilt (Fusarium); and its seeds, bark, and leaves contain toxic compounds, so fallen seedpods should be kept away from children and pets.
Scientific name
Albizia julibrissin
Plant type
tree
Hardiness
6b-9b
Light
full-sun
Moisture
low
Spacing
360 inches
Classroom prompts
- Which plant traits are observations, and which are care recommendations?
- How would this plant fit change if the garden location moved warmer, colder, wetter, or drier?
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Sources & citations
Cite this page
For lesson plans, articles, or research that uses this page. To cite a single upstream fact instead, use its specific source listed below.
Plotwright. (2026, May 17). Persian silk tree (Albizia julibrissin). Retrieved 2026, June 30, from https://plotwright.com/plants/albizia-julibrissin
Sources for every fact
Every fact on this page traces to a source. 18 fields cited - 18 source-backed.
RHS Find a Plant
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Backs 17 fields
Identity
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