Powderpuff

Year-round

Sunshine mimosa, also called powderpuff (Mimosa strigillosa), is a low ground-hugging Texas native in the pea family with ferny leaves that fold shut when touched and pink puffball blooms through most of the growing season.

• Give it full sun to light shade. More sun means more of the pink puffball blooms.
• It wants well drained ground. Fort Worth's sandy Cross Timbers soil drains on its own. In Dallas's heavier Blackland Prairie clay, work in some compost or plant it on a slight mound so roots don't sit in standing water.
• Water it regularly through the first growing season while it puts down roots. After that it handles Texas heat and dry spells well.
• It spreads by rooting its own stems as it grows, so give it room. It tolerates light foot traffic and occasional mowing, which is why some homeowners use it as a lawn substitute.
• The leaflets fold up within seconds of being touched or brushed. That is normal behavior, not a sign the plant is struggling.
• It is native to Texas, including the Blackland Prairie region, and it is a caterpillar host plant for the little yellow butterfly (Pyrisitia lisa). Nibbled foliage in season is the plant doing its job, not damage to fix.

Fall

Fall is when sunshine mimosa starts slowing down on its way into winter dormancy.

• Blooming tapers off and growth slows as days get shorter and cooler.
• Ease off watering as the plant heads toward dormancy. It needs less as the weather cools.
• Early fall is a good window to plant or divide it, since it has time to root in before the first hard freeze.
• Foliage may start looking ragged before frost hits. That is the plant shutting down for the season, not something to fix.

Winter

Winter is dormancy. Top growth dies back with frost and the plant regrows from its base in spring.

• Expect the foliage to die back to the ground after a hard freeze in North Texas winters. The crown and root system survive underground and send up new growth in spring.
• Skip watering unless the winter turns unusually dry. A dormant plant does not need it.
• The bare patch is asleep, not dead. Leave the roots in place rather than tilling the spot under or replacing it.
• If the browned dead growth bothers you along a front bed, mow or trim it back once it is fully brown.

Mowing or trimming the browned winter growth along a front walkway or bed edge keeps the dormant patch looking maintained rather than neglected.

Spring

Spring is when sunshine mimosa comes out of winter dormancy and starts blooming.

• New growth comes up from the crown and runners in early to mid spring, and blooms usually start by March and keep going into summer.
• Keep a newly planted patch watered through spring. This is the main root establishment window.
• Skip the fertilizer. As a legume it makes its own nitrogen, and feeding it mostly feeds weeds instead.
• If a runner spreads somewhere you do not want it, hand pull it now while it is young, before it roots down along its length.

Summer

Summer is peak bloom and peak growth for sunshine mimosa in North Texas heat.

• Established plants shrug off Texas summer heat and dry stretches. A plant still in its first year wants a deep soak whenever the top couple inches of soil dry out.
• Expect the pink puffball blooms to keep coming through summer, drawing bees and little yellow butterflies.
• It spreads fast in summer heat and can creep past its bed. Trim wandering runners back to the line you want and it fills back in quickly.
• You may see small patches of chewed foliage. That is usually little yellow caterpillars feeding, which is expected and not a pest problem to treat.

Trimming the runners at your walkway or bed edge in summer keeps the patch looking tended instead of unruly.

Year-round

Sunshine mimosa, also called powderpuff (Mimosa strigillosa), is a low ground-hugging Texas native in the pea family with ferny leaves that fold shut when touched and pink puffball blooms through most of the growing season.

• Give it full sun to light shade. More sun means more of the pink puffball blooms.
• It wants well drained ground. Fort Worth's sandy Cross Timbers soil drains on its own. In Dallas's heavier Blackland Prairie clay, work in some compost or plant it on a slight mound so roots don't sit in standing water.
• Water it regularly through the first growing season while it puts down roots. After that it handles Texas heat and dry spells well.
• It spreads by rooting its own stems as it grows, so give it room. It tolerates light foot traffic and occasional mowing, which is why some homeowners use it as a lawn substitute.
• The leaflets fold up within seconds of being touched or brushed. That is normal behavior, not a sign the plant is struggling.
• It is native to Texas, including the Blackland Prairie region, and it is a caterpillar host plant for the little yellow butterfly (Pyrisitia lisa). Nibbled foliage in season is the plant doing its job, not damage to fix.

Fall

Fall is when sunshine mimosa starts slowing down on its way into winter dormancy.

• Blooming tapers off and growth slows as days get shorter and cooler.
• Ease off watering as the plant heads toward dormancy. It needs less as the weather cools.
• Early fall is a good window to plant or divide it, since it has time to root in before the first hard freeze.
• Foliage may start looking ragged before frost hits. That is the plant shutting down for the season, not something to fix.

Winter

Winter is dormancy. Top growth dies back with frost and the plant regrows from its base in spring.

• Expect the foliage to die back to the ground after a hard freeze in North Texas winters. The crown and root system survive underground and send up new growth in spring.
• Skip watering unless the winter turns unusually dry. A dormant plant does not need it.
• The bare patch is asleep, not dead. Leave the roots in place rather than tilling the spot under or replacing it.
• If the browned dead growth bothers you along a front bed, mow or trim it back once it is fully brown.

Mowing or trimming the browned winter growth along a front walkway or bed edge keeps the dormant patch looking maintained rather than neglected.

Spring

Spring is when sunshine mimosa comes out of winter dormancy and starts blooming.

• New growth comes up from the crown and runners in early to mid spring, and blooms usually start by March and keep going into summer.
• Keep a newly planted patch watered through spring. This is the main root establishment window.
• Skip the fertilizer. As a legume it makes its own nitrogen, and feeding it mostly feeds weeds instead.
• If a runner spreads somewhere you do not want it, hand pull it now while it is young, before it roots down along its length.

Summer

Summer is peak bloom and peak growth for sunshine mimosa in North Texas heat.

• Established plants shrug off Texas summer heat and dry stretches. A plant still in its first year wants a deep soak whenever the top couple inches of soil dry out.
• Expect the pink puffball blooms to keep coming through summer, drawing bees and little yellow butterflies.
• It spreads fast in summer heat and can creep past its bed. Trim wandering runners back to the line you want and it fills back in quickly.
• You may see small patches of chewed foliage. That is usually little yellow caterpillars feeding, which is expected and not a pest problem to treat.

Trimming the runners at your walkway or bed edge in summer keeps the patch looking tended instead of unruly.