One of the comments often heard about Indian River landscapes is that there are few choices for colorful trees that are adapted to our climate.  Today’s column will introduce a spectacular flowering tree that can grow in our area, and provide you with an inexpensive way to obtain one for your Florida yard.

Information for today’s column comes from Landscape Architect Fredric Stresau and from the Southern Trees CD-ROM program, authored by University of Florida Extension Horticulture Specialist  Edward F. Gilman.

Horticulturalists know this tree as Jacaranda mimosifolia.  Its name is pronounced jack-uh-RAN-duh.  The colorful tree is member of the Bignoniaceae family.  There are no common native relatives of this tree found in our area.  The Southern Catalpa and Trumpet Creeper vine are relatives and may be familiar to those persons who lived in areas north of Florida.  There are several tropical relatives occasionally encountered in our area, including the Sausage Tree, African Tulip tree, Pink and Yellow flowered Tabebuias trees, Flame Vine and Cape Honeysuckle – a vining shrub.

These plants all share some characteristics with Jacaranda: colorful clusters of tubular flowers with fruits that, at first glance, may look like bean pods.

The Jacaranda tree is a native to the Amazon Basin of Brazil.  Its adapted range corresponds with areas in Florida that can successfully grow citrus, roughly areas that will not dip below 25 degrees F.  The USDA identifies this region as Hardiness Zones 9b.

Soft, delicate, fernlike deciduous foliage and dense terminal clusters of lavender-blue, lightly fragrant, trumpet-shaped flowers make this large spreading tree an outstanding specimen for local planting.  Leaves are doubly compound, and grow across from each other on the stem.  

Because it will lose its leaves in winter, it can warm the southern sides of home when the sun is low in the sky, and offer shade in the summer when temperatures climb. The use of evergreens blended together with this tree in the landscape may reduce the bare look in winter.

The striking blooms can appear any time from April through August (most often in May), and sometimes erupt in their cavalcade of color before the fresh, new light green leaves appear in spring.  Flowering is often more vibrant following a winter with several nights in the upper 30’s.  “Alba” is a white-flowered cultivar which has a longer blooming period but sparser blooms.  There are other cultivars available.

Propagation is by softwood cuttings, grafting or by seed.  Grafted trees or those rooted from cuttings are preferred when available as they will produce bloom in a shorter number of years.

Choice of Sites 

Jacaranda may actually flower best when grown in poor soil.  This tree can reach 25 to 40 feet in height with an equal or greater spread, and the arching trunks are covered with light gray bark.  The current Florida Champion that is found in LaBelle measures 68 feet tall and 74 feet wide.  With this kind of mature size, the best places in the landscape would be in large parking lot islands (more than 200 square feet in size); or wide lawn areas (more than 6 feet wide).  Jacarandas work well as shade or specimen trees.  Do not plant it too close to the house – give it plenty of room to grow. 

The light dappled shade that this tree produces makes the Jacaranda well suited for cooling patios, but it probably should not be used near pools due to the abundant leaf and flower drop.  Sidewalks may get slippery when the blossoms fall.  Otherwise, the Jacaranda makes an idea street tree, crating a spectacular sight when in full bloom.  Their arching branches will crate a canopy over the street.  Again be careful about planting this too near the street as the surface roots can lift sidewalks or interfere with mowing.

Best growth and heaviest flowering will result when grown in full sun.  Small trees of Jacaranda can tolerate light shade and will grow quickly. They thrive in well-drained soils but tolerate a wide variety of soil conditions from clay to sand  and from slightly alkaline to acidic soil conditions.

It does require a well-drained site and may get mushroom root-rot if grown on poorly drained soil.  While Jacaranda trees are highly drought tolerant, they should be watered during dry periods.  However, they are not likely to do well in beach-front exposures where salt spray is likely. Pests and other diseases are uncommon on Jacaranda.

Pruning Important

Be sure to place into the landscape only those trees which have one central trunk and major limbs well spaced apart for street tree and other high use areas.  Unpruned trees produce weakly attached branches which can become hazardous as they split apart at the crotches, especially if windy conditions occur at the planting site.  For this reason, open areas may not be as desirable location for this flowering specimen tree.  Once properly trained and pruned, Jacaranda is fairly strong wooded and less messy than other flowering trees.

Prune branches so they remain less than half the diameter of the trunk to help keep the plant intact and increase durability. The bark of this tree is thin and easily damaged from mechanical impact.  Because branches will droop as the tree grows, they will require pruning for vehicular or pedestrian clearance beneath the canopy.  The trunk is showy, and should be grown with a central leader.

If you need additional information on Jacaranda trees, visit your county Master Gardeners, or call or stop by your county Extension office. For those with other questions about Florida Yards, contact me - my phone number is 863-763-6469 and you can send e-mail to dfculbert@ifas.ufl.edu.

Trade names, where used, are given for the purpose of providing specific information.  They do not constitute an endorsement or guarantee of products named, nor does it imply criticism of products not named. The Florida Cooperative Extension Service - Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer authorized to provide research, educational information, and other services to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap, or national origin. Florida Cooperative Extension Service / IFAS /University of Florida. Larry A. Arrington,  Dean.  Last update: 04/10/2007 .  This page is maintained by Dan Culbert