How to Grow a Jacaranda Tree: Plot Size, Roots and Years to Bloom (Video)

Transcript

Why won't your jacaranda bloom? The fix is simpler than you think.

Why won't your jacaranda bloom? The fix is simpler than you think.

Grow a Jacaranda Tree

Stay for the one mistake that stops jacaranda blooms. That's at the end.

Will it grow in your city?

Here's the thing about jacarandas. They love the Punjab plains, so Lahore, Faisalabad and Delhi get that classic lilac show every April. Islamabad and Peshawar work too, but young trees get frost burnt, so wrap them on cold nights. Karachi's a maybe, because without a cool dry winter the flowering gets thinner. And in Multan or Bahawalpur, hot wind scorches the leaves and flowers, so you'd need irrigation.

Is your plot big enough?

Now, the part most people miss. This tree gets big, like eight to fifteen metres tall with a crown almost as wide. Think about it. If you've got five marla, honestly skip it, it'll overhang the house, the gate and the neighbour's wall. Ten marla to one kanal works if you plant it in a corner with six to eight metres clear of the house. And if you've got a kanal or more, this is where it truly shines.

Roots spread three times height

Here's a number worth remembering. Jacaranda roots can spread up to three times the tree's height, though it's not a foundation wrecker like eucalyptus or peepal. On clay soil or older footings, keep it six to eight metres from the house. Boundary walls and driveways want three to four metres, because surface roots thicken and lift light structures. And keep it as far as you can from sewer lines and septic tanks, at least four to five metres, and fix leaking joints first.

Seed takes ten years to bloom

Another number to know. From seed, a jacaranda can take up to ten years to flower. That's a long chai waiting game. A nursery sapling, one to two metres tall, is the best choice for most homes, it often flowers in just a few years. Grafted or cutting-grown plants can bloom even sooner, but they're rare in local nurseries. You can ask, just check the graft union before you buy.

The nursery check that saves years

Here's a trick that'll save you years. Ask the nursery if they have a plant from a tree that's already flowered, or a cutting or grafted one. Then pick a sapling with a thick, straight stem, not the tallest, thinnest one. And here's the kicker, if the bag feels rock hard with circling roots, that plant has been sitting root bound for two summers and it'll sulk for a year after planting. Walk away and choose another.

Growing jacaranda from seed

If you do want to try from seed, collect the flat, round, woody pods once they turn brown and start to split, usually in winter. Remove the thin, winged seeds and soak them in water at room temperature overnight. Then sow them about a centimetre deep in bags or trays of sand, soil and compost in equal parts, in March or April. Keep them warm and lightly moist in bright shade, and seedlings usually appear within a few weeks.

Planting your sapling

The best months are February to April in the plains, after frost risk, or September to October. Avoid May and June, the heat's brutal. Dig a pit about sixty centimetres wide and deep. On heavy clay, loosen the sides and mix the backfill with compost and coarse sand, but don't make a soft pocket of pure compost. Set the plant at the same depth it grew in the bag, backfill, firm it down, make a low ring of soil around the pit, and water slowly until it soaks in.

First two years of care

First summer, deep soak twice a week, weekly in the second year, and every ten to fifteen days in winter. On those cold Lahore nights, wrap young plants in a breathable cloth or jute from evening to morning. Feed compost or well-rotted manure in spring. And prune after flowering, removing crossing branches, keeping a single leader. Whatever you do, never top it. Topped jacarandas send up ugly shoots and ruin the shape forever.

Pests and things to watch

Pests? Scale insects, aphids, and a bacterial disease. If leaves get sticky with black mould, that points to aphids or scale, so hose them off and scrape scale from small branches. Branch dieback in waterlogged soil means root trouble. And remember, jacaranda wood is weak, so limbs can break in pre-monsoon dust storms. Don't plant it where branches would fall on a parked car, a roof, a play area, or power lines. Fallen flowers make tiles slippery.

The one flowering killer

And this is where it gets interesting. If your jacaranda won't flower, it's usually one of four things. It's a young seedling, so patience. It's in shade. It got pruned hard in winter and lost its flowering wood. Or, and this is the one most people miss, it's getting too much nitrogen from lawn fertiliser. That pushes all the energy into leaves, not flowers. So what should you do? Move the lawn feed away from the tree, and give it time. That's often all it takes.

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Read the full guide

The full guide is on thecareonline.com. General information only, so check with your doctor for your own case.