I had two a couple years ago. They weren't bonsai, though... just small trees in large pots. I put them in the garage over the winter for two years and they did just fine (lost all their leaves, but they came back in the spring). One year, I left them outside... they didn't come back. :(

ok. I've heard of people overwintering deciduous plants indoors by limiting their water and light exposure. I've never heard of this being done on a tree before, though. I can keep it indoors by the window and water it less, or does it need the cold to go dormant? I'm not too keen on plant biology so any help would be great.

Knowing where you live would help some:-). Mimosa is hardy here. It once was very popular as a landscape tree. Been demoted to trash tree status now.

Wintering deciduous trees indoors is not real high on my list of smart things to do. They need both cold and dormancy.

randy

Put it in your garage and forget about it.... ok, well maybe not completely forget about it. It would be a good idea to keep it from completely drying out, but other than that, just leave it be. Light is not a concern since it will have no leaves.

Sorry, I'm in New York and I'm right on the zone 7. The only thing I'm really afraid of is letting the frost get to it (and it will often drop to freezing in the night late fall through spring). Since I don't know the species, I have no way of knowing whether or not it's frost tender, ergo my concern. I could probably get away with keeping it in the garage though, as long as it doesn't drop below freezing, right?