True eye opener on how you should prune your Jacaranda Tree
Jacaranda Tree Pruning a very informative article on the correct way that they should be looked after pruned and not mutilated like many areas here in Spain
This Article
This Article comes to us via our facebook gardening page. I have not edited at all as it is to my mind something that more people should be allowed to see and read. It is written by Neva Lucas a member on https://www.facebook.com/groups/1623745237901625
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I don’t normally initiate posts on here, sometimes just answer if I have knowledge that will help but I feel the need to speak up for Jacarandas and they way they are abused & mutilated in Spain, because they are ruined here by a Spanish custom. Pruning.
Pruning is the literal equivalent for the Jacaranda of sheer mutilation & expats are unknowingly adopting this major error in their care.
Havent any of you wondered why, when the spring blooms fight their way through in late April early May, they are so thin? And always interspersed with leaves? Never the spectacular “only purple” show you see in photos? Theres a very good reason for that.
The tree is desperately trying to stay alive!
The cycle of a Jacaranda is long new branches grow & produce green summer leaf growth, thick with shade giving leaves in a beautiful bright green for summer.
End of the growth season
At the end of the growth season, those leaves drop and the new scrawny branches & trunk hibernates while the sap drops to the roots, also allowing the sun to access what is normally shaded and which in winter is a good thing.
Then in Spring the beautiful purple flowers appear… where the leaves were… exactly where they were, forming a spectacular show of purple against dark bare trunk, but no leaves at all.
No leaves, just purple. An unbeatable spectacle, purple on dark silhouetted branches & trunk. Then as they get older and maybe grow in groups, a breathtaking spectacle.
But heres the problem often here in Spain, the ritual of cutting back all the new growth, to “contain” the tree (why get a giant tree if you want a small or medium tree??!) get a bloody Almond tree or a Cherry tree!
That brutal cutting does two things to the Jacaranda
It removes the place where the flowers will come and it makes the plant literally fight for its life, so when blooming starts and theres hardly any place for blooms because its been cut away, the tree is forced to put out leaves to survive, because its flowering arms have been taken & theres barely any life on its mutilated stumps of branches.
Jacaranda Tree Pruning
Spring is not the time for leaves, only flowers, yet Spain’s Jacarandas always have leaves with the flowers, because the tree is abused.
The tree is forced into two cycles of growth simultaneously. The leaves come AFTER the flowers in a normal tree but here in Spain the trees are forced to produce leaves months earlier, because of pruning.
That’s why the May “show” is so pathetic, with sparse purple interfered with by limp green. The tree is literally fighting for its life
Jacaranda Tree Pruning
I grew up in a town world famous for that spectacle and ever since I’ve been here in Spain I’ve wanted to find the gardeners and shake each and every one of them for brutalising such a glorious tree year after year.
Look at this photo, they are giants! The two small dots either side of the road are cars. This is where I grew up. No one ever prunes Jacarandas because its just not done and in these photos is what happens we we keep our bloody hands off them.
I now live in a townhouse and I have a courtyard with a Jacaranda in a giant pot. Its only 4 years old, Ill never cut it, I know Ill have to give it up one day and when it gets too big I’ll probably donate it to somone with land on the proviso it is never ever ever pruned.
That lucky person will have a spectacular tree for generations
This photo is three streets from my home in Grafton NSW. I’ve cantered along under those amazing branches, through the glorious carpet of purple flowers on my horse and I have a romantic attachment to the trees that lined nearly every street of our town.
If you are able… please don’t cut your Jacaranda. Give it a chance to show you how magical it can be
Grafton Jacaranda Festival Australia l Grafton Town centre on the banks of the Clarence river
The Grafton Jacaranda Festival occurs over the last week of October and the first week of November.
Whether you’re seeking a little piece of yesteryear, where locals still line the main street of Grafton to watch (with a purple ice cream in hand) the annual float parade, or you love the flamboyance and pageantry of drag queen bingo – Grafton’s Jacaranda Festival has something for everyone.
One of the most popular days is “Jacaranda Thursday”, where main streets close, local businesses dress up and people meander throughout the CBD, soaking up the atmosphere.
How to Grow Jacaranda Trees From Seed ( 2 Methods)
In this youtube video I show you how to grow Jacaranda trees (Jacaranda mimosifolia) from seed. I use 2 different methods to assist germination and show you which was the most effective.
Jacaranda Time Lapse From Seed
Jacaranda Trees fern like leaves purple flowers popular in Spain
Gardening in Spain Jacaranda trees
Jacaranda Trees The blue jacaranda tree is one of the most popular trees that people love to grow because the delicate fern-like leaves and the purple flowers make them look like trees straight out of a fairytale Jacaranda Trees
Jacaranda Tree Pruning
Optimised P 92/97 H 90 FK 100 F Jacaranda Tree Pruning goo 26th 2024
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