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Mimosa pudica ( mim - MOH - suh , pudding - EE - kuh ) is a pantropical semi - vertical or prostrate flowering shrub originating in South America and Central America . Today , it can be feel throughout the tropic regions of the southern United States , Australia , Philippines , Puerto Rico , Sri Lanka , South Africa , and even West Africa .
It is a tough and adaptable perennial that can also spring back year after class as an annual thanks to vigorous seed product .
The beautiful plant is well - cognise for its rapid plant apparent motion , mimicking the sensibility through its petite quick - response brochure , which fold chop-chop at the little touch or other external triggers like the jazz . They also fold in response to darkness .
This member of the Legume or Fabaceae family of plant produce as a perennial in tropic setting and is naturalize in USDA hardiness zones 9 - 11 . It can be kept as a houseplant in USDA hardiness zones 2 - 8 .
Occasionally , this plant is referred to by its scientific name , Mimosa strigillosa ( Mim - MOH - suh strig - ill - OH - sa ) . In many part of the southern United States , you will hear Mimosa pudica referred to as Touch - Me - Not .
It has multiple other vulgar names in English , such as :
It has also been trademarked and marketed as the “ TickleMe Plant ® . ”
This ubiquitous works also has a sprawling array of vulgar names in the language of the many tropical options in which it happily grows . what is more , about half a XII metal money of prone Mimosa that closely resemble Mimosa pudica and go by the same or similar coarse names .
Mimosa Pudica Care
Growing the Sensitive Plant (Mimosa pudica)
Size and Growth
Mimosa pudica plant is a burry , harsh subshrub or herbaceous plant with a semi - prostrate growth substance abuse . It typically grows to about a foot mellow and may climb or chase a bit . When save as a houseplant , it is soft to keep its growth stocky through careful pruning .
Its growth drug abuse is slightly dumb and more controllable than that of some other change of flat Mimosa , such as Mimosa quadrivalvis which is quite similar but may light upon a spreadhead of 5 ’ feet .
Flowering and Fragrance
Touch - Me - Not has small , pale pink or lavender puffball flowers about a half - inch in diam . They are sweetly scented and very attractive to bees , butterflies , and other pollinator .
Each bloom is made up of hundreds of tiny , thread - same petals . cluster of about half a dozen blooms come out on the leaf axils . The blooms look like illumination of those found on Mimosa trees .
Foliage
The leaves , stems , and flower angry walk of Humble Plant are covered with small , curving prickles that irritate the skin .
The tiny hoary - greenish leave of absence of the plant droop in darkness and will speedily fold and pull away when touched . This reflex from extraneous gun trigger may be a defense mechanics for auspices against predators or a room to slenderize the plant ’s water loss due to desiccation .
Sensitive Plant ( Mimosa Pudica ) Leaves in activity
Light and Temperature
Sensitive Plant is essentially a weed that like to arise out in the open , on roadsides , and in demented soil . It requires bright light and hot , full sun and luck of warmth .
When plant alfresco in USDA hardiness zones 9 - 11 , the beautiful plant will thrive in area such as expose hillsides that detain sunny all day long .
If you are hold open Shy Plant as a houseplant , give it a mount that maintains a temperature of at least 60 ° degrees Fahrenheit . It also does n’t digest temperature fluctuations .
As a potted plant , it is a piece more tender to the sun . Bright , indirect sun is preferable to the full , hot sun .
Be advise that container plant will in all likelihood not perform well ( or at all ) in winter , so it ’s best just to set the plant in an out - of - the - fashion stead where it will meet adequate light and passion . offer minimal watering during the winter month .
Moreover , if right sunlight is unavailable , artificial lighting will work on well .
Watering and Feeding
know & Die plant life like soak - and - dry watering . In the landscape in USDA hardiness zone 9 to 11 , this drought - resistant works may do just fine with nothing but rainfall .
In a container , you should supply thorough tearing on a even basis when the top couple of inches of territory feel dry . Take maintenance not to overwater , as this will make root bunk .
In summation , they grow secure in dampish land , so self - watering pots work well .
fertilise lightly or not at all . retrieve that this industrial plant is a mourning band and that it is also a legume . This works undergoes a cognitive process called N fixation , which takes the atmospherical nitrogen into a useful form for the plant life . As such , it supply its own nutrient .
Kept as a houseplant , annual repotting with fresh soil in the springtime should append more than enough nutrients to keep Puffball Plant salubrious .
Soil and Transplanting
The sensitive plant get good in moist and well - drained land but may adapt easily to any case of soil . Always ensure to tick on the soil consideration .
Moreover , use a 50/50 mix of good - tone potting soil , peat moss , or coco coir to create a light , ample substratum for potted plant life . This salmagundi can also be used to pop out pudica seeds and for transplantation .
When keeping a Shy Plant as a potted plant , take care not to over - muckle . utilize small - to - medium - sized batch just to accommodate the size of it of the plant .
In the landscape painting , Prostrate Mimosa is well-chosen in any soil that is light , visionary , and well - draining .
Grooming and Maintenance
Mimosa pudica is a fairly compact eccentric of prone Mimosa . When hold back as a potted plant , you should prune softly during the grow time of year to help the beautiful plant maintain its shape .
Do n’t prune sharply , as this may warn ontogenesis . Just pilfer back tips and dress back at forks in the root word to encourage shaggy-haired growth .
If you are keeping Sensitive Mimosa indoors through the winter , prune it back a routine more dramatically at the end of autumn , and then do n’t expect much from it through the wintertime . Just let it rest .
How To Propagate Mimosa Pudica
In its natural mount , prostrate Mimosa tends to ramble a fleck and spreads through runner and seed production . It is possible to propagate the plant using root - bearing clipping , but growing it from seed is in reality easier .
The plant produces many small , briery , bean - like seed pods , and they germinate enthusiastically when planted shallowly in a light mix of potting soil and coco coir or peat moss .
Before planting , it ’s a good practice to sop the pudica seed in fond urine to abbreviate the amount of time it takes for the works seeds to germinate .
After that , just grade four or five dried semen pod in the pot with potting soil mixture where they will develop . Place the can in a sheltered circumstance with bright , indirect sunlight and warm temperature to farm easily .
Keep the soil slightly moist until the plants lead off to grow , and then transition to overcharge - and - ironical watering .
Pudica seeds burgeon forth quickly , and plant arise rapidly . The ease of growing these gay repeated works from seed construct it easy to see why simply develop newfangled flora as yearbook every spring is usually preferable to attempt to mollycoddle a potted Shy Plant through the wintertime .
Mimosa Pudica Main Pest Or Diseases
Overwatering is the primary cause of problem with this stalwart , rugged , easy naturalized flora . redundant weewee will make origin rot .
As far as common houseplant pest go , spider jot are the main perpetrator that may negatively impact Curiosity Plant .
If you acknowledge pitting in the leaves , try out the plant carefully for tiny mites feeding on the undersides of the leaves . You will likely demand to apply a magnifying glass to see them .
Spider mites also normally hinder the reactive closing of the sensitive plant , as it wraps the plant ’s leaves in World Wide Web .
If you find spider mite , you’re able to blast them off with water . Do this daily for a week to eradicate wanderer mites on Mimosa pudica .
Is the plant considered toxic or poisonous to people, kids, and pets?
The tiny , sharp-worded recurve spikelet can nettle the skin , so be certain to wear down gloves when handling the plant .
The entire plant contains an amino loony toons roll in the hay as mimosine , which can be toxic if consumed in large measure .
Is the plant considered invasive?
In surface area where Mimosa pudica can return year after twelvemonth , it has naturalize easy and is considered a nuisance sens but not an invasive species .
It is considered encroaching in a wide image of areas where it can thrive and run rearing year - rotund , such as the Pacific Islands , Southeast Asia , South Asia , and Tanzania .
Suggested Mimosa Pudica Uses
Touch - Me - Not is a grand option as a bauble and a first plant life for curious children . It is well grown in a cheery windowpane and leave education and entertainment as an synergistic plant .
kid can also learn a great trade about plant propagation by gathering , saving , and sowing plant seed .
As a member of the legume family , the Live & Die Plant also has agricultural value as a blanket crop , and it can be used to control corroding on hillside and in alike configurations .
The plant makes a decent terra firma cover in a yard , garden , and commercial-grade options such as coconut groves .
This drouth - tolerant plant life might be used as a pollinator - draw in addition in a rock’n’roll garden . It is also deserving noting that this is an effective butterfly stroke host plant that provides food for caterpillars .
Mimosa pudica also has several medicative uses both in folk medicinal drug and modern pharmaceutic medicine . Components of the works have been regain valuable as a snakebite antivenom component , a deworming factor , an antidepressant , and much more .
