Pros and Cons of Planting Mimosa in Your Yard

Pro's and Con's of Planting Mimosa in Your Yard Albizia julibrissin, also called silk tree, was introduced into North America from China where it is a native species. The tree along with its  silk-like flower arrived in North America in 1745 and was rapidly planted  and cultivated for use as an ornamental. Mimosa is still planted as an ornamental because of its fragrant and showy flowers but has escaped into the forest and now considered an invasive exotic.  Mimosas ability to grow and reproduce along roadways and disturbed areas and to establish after escaping from cultivation is a major problem.  Mimosa is considered an exotic invasive tree. The Beautiful  Mimosa Flower and Leaf Silk tree has showy and fragrant pink flowers that are just over an inch long. These lovely pink flowers resemble pompoms, all of which are arranged in panicles at the ends of branches. These beautiful flowers appear in abundance from late April to early July creating a spectacular sight that enhances its popularity. These flowers are the perfect color  pink, they have a pleasant fragrance and are very attractive during  spring and summer flowering. They can also be a mess on property under the tree. The abundant  fern-like leaf also adds a bit of magic and is unlike many, if any, of the North American native trees. These unique leaves make Mimosa popular to use as a terrace or patio tree for its light-filtering effect with dappled shade and a tropical effect. Its deciduous (loses its leaves when dormant) nature allows the sun to warm during cold winters. These leaves are finely divided, 5-8 inches long by about 3-4 inches wide, and alternate along the stems. Growing Mimosa Mimosa grows best in full sun locations and is not peculiar to any particular soil type. It does have a low  tolerance for salt and grows well in acid or alkaline soil. Mimosa is drought tolerant but will have a deeper green color and more lush appearance when given adequate moisture. The tree lives on dry-to-wet sites and tends to spread along stream banks. It prefers open conditions but can persist in the shade. You will seldom find the tree in forests with full canopy cover, or at higher elevations where cold hardiness is a limiting factor.   Why You Should Not Plant Mimosa Mimosa is short lived and very messy. It, in a very short time, shades large areas in the landscape which inhibit  sun-loving shrubs and grasses. Seed pods litter both the tree and the ground, and the tree is considered an invasive species in  North America. The seeds readily germinate and seedlings can cover your lawn and the surrounding area.  The mimosa flower, to be honest, is beautiful but if the tree is shading outside property or over automobiles, you will have a major annual cleaning problem through the flowering season. The wood of mimosa is very brittle and weak and the multiple spreading branches are prone to breakage. This breakage is a major factor in its limited ability to live a long life. In addition to the breakage, the tree attracts webworm and vascular wilt which leads to an early demise. Typically, most of the root system grows from only two or three large-diameter roots originating at the base of the trunk. These can raise walks and patios as they grow in diameter and make for poor transplanting success as the tree grows larger. Redeeming Features Mimosa is a handsome tree with beautiful silk-like flowers.Mimosa is tolerant of drought and alkaline soils.

Conversation Lesson About the Equality of lMen and Women

Conversation Lesson About the Equality of lMen and Women Debates in class can help English learners practice a wide range of functions including agreeing and disagreeing, negotiating, collaboration with other students, and so on. Often students need help with ideas and thats where this lesson plan can help. Below you will find cues to the discussion concerning equality between men and women to help get students discussing issues related to the debate. Provide ample time for the discussion and then time the debate. This will help encourage precise language use. This debate can easily be carried out between the men and women in the class, or those who believe the statement is true and those who do not. Another variation is based on the idea that having students support opinions that are not necessarily their own during debates can help improve students fluency. In this manner, students pragmatically focus on correct production skills in conversation rather than striving to win the argument. For more information on this approach please see the following feature: Teaching Conversational Skills: Tips and Strategies. Aim Improve conversational skills when supporting a point of view Activity Debate about the question of whether men and women are truly equal. Level Upper-intermediate to advanced Outline Review language used when expressing opinions, disagreeing, making comments on other persons point of view, etc.Write a few ideas on the board to encourage discussion of the equality between men and women: the workplace, the home, government, etc.Ask students if they feel that women are truly equal to men in these various roles and places.Based on students responses, divide groups up into two groups. One group arguing that equality has been achieved for women and one that feels that women have not yet attained true equality to men. Idea: Put students into the group with the opposite opinion of what they seemed to believe in the warm-up conversation.Give students worksheets including ideas pro and con. Have students develop arguments using the ideas on the worksheet as a springboard for further ideas and discussion.Once students have prepared their opening arguments, begin with the debate. Each team has 5 minutes to present their principal ideas.Have students prepare notes and make a rebuttal to the expressed opinions. While the debate is in progress, take notes on common errors made by the students.At the end of the debate, take time for a short focus on common mistakes. This is important, as students should not be too involved emotionally and therefore will be quite capable of recognizing language problems - as opposed to problems in beliefs! Men and Women: Equal at Last? You are going to debate whether women are finally truly equal to men. Use the clues and ideas below to help you create an argument for your appointed point of view with your team members. Below you will find phrases and language helpful in expressing opinions, offering explanations and disagreeing. Opinions, Preferences I think..., In my opinion..., Id like to..., Id rather..., Id prefer..., The way I see it..., As far as Im concerned..., If it were up to me..., I suppose..., I suspect that..., Im pretty sure that..., It is fairly certain that..., Im convinced that..., I honestly feel that, I strongly believe that..., Without a doubt,..., Disagreeing I dont think that..., Dont you think it would be better..., I dont agree, Id prefer..., Shouldnt we consider..., But what about..., Im afraid I dont agree..., Frankly, I doubt if..., Lets face it, The truth of the matter is..., The problem with your point of view is that... Giving Reasons and Offering Explanations To start with, The reason why..., Thats why..., For this reason..., Thats the reason why..., Many people think...., Considering..., Allowing for the fact that..., When you consider that... Yes, Women Are Now Equal to Men Many governments have both male and female representatives.Many companies are now owned or managed by women.A lot of progress has been made since the 1960s.Television series now portray women as successful career makers.Men now share in the raising of children and household responsibilities.Many important laws have been passed to ensure equality in the workplace.In many places, a married couple can choose whether the man or the women takes leave from work to look after the newly arrived baby.People arent discussing equality anymore. It has become a reality.Have you ever heard of Margaret Thatcher? Excuse Me? Women Still Have a Long Way to Go Before They Are Equal to Men Women still earn less than men in many work situations.Women are still portrayed in a superficial manner in many television shows.Look at international sporting. How many professional female leagues are as successful as their male counterparts?Most governments still are made up in their majority of men.We are having this debate because women are not equal. Otherwise, there would be no need to discuss the matter.Women are often not given enough responsibility based on the possibility that they might become pregnant.The number of sexual harassment suits have increased over the past 10 years.Hundreds of years of history cant have been changed in a mere 30 odd years.Have you ever watched Bay Watch?