Blue Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia) Growing & Care Guide for Gardeners
Article by Dean Ravenscroft, Ph.D. - Updated 1st Feb 2024
- Plant Characteristics: Boasts stunning clusters of blue-purple, trumpet-shaped flowers in spring and early summer. Its fine, fern-like foliage provides dappled shade, making it a favorite for parks and large gardens.
- Growing & Care: Prefers a sunny position and well-drained soil. Drought-tolerant once established, but benefits from occasional deep watering during hot periods.
- Tips for New Gardeners: Although slow-growing at first, it's worth the wait for the spectacular blooms. It can be messy when the flowers drop, so avoid planting near pools or outdoor dining areas.
The Jacaranda mimosifolia plant is a beautiful tree that is native to tropical regions of South America. It now grows wildly in warmer US states such as Hawaii, Nevada, California, Texas, and Florida; and in coastal Mediterranean regions of Spain in Europe.
In Australia and South Africa it is considered to be an invasive species so please grow this plant responsibly.
It is a tall wide growing tree, making it good to use if you need to bring shade to the garden, It lets enough light through for grass to grow fine beneath it.
Although it is a tropical plant and seldom blooms when grown outside these areas it is often grown in other areas (usually under glass) for its attractive fern-like foliage.
Both photographs by Forest and Kim Starr CC.
The bark is thin, smooth, and a brown-gray color. Twigs are reddish-brown and slender.
The flowers are grouped in panicles and blooms last for around two months. They then produce woody seed pods with winged seeds.
Jacaranda mimosifolia makes a good pot or container plant, but can reach heights of 10 feet (3 m). If growing as a pot plant in a temperate climate, then bring indoors autumn to spring. It can be left outdoors once the temperatures do not drop below 5°C (41°F).
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Quick Growing and Care Guide
- Scientific Name: Jacaranda mimosifolia
- Common Name (s): Jacaranda, Blue jacaranda, Green ebony tree, Black poui, Fern tree, Brazilian rosewood, Blue trumpet tree.
- Growing Zone (USA / UK Hardiness): 9(b)-11 / Does not do well in the UK, grow as a conservatory or greenhouse plant only. Can be grown in containers and put outdoors in the Summer in the UK/Europe when temperatures remain above 5°C (41°F); UK Hardiness zone H1c.
Plant Details
- Life Cycle / Plant Type:Tree
- Plant Height: 60 to 600 inches (5 to 50 feet; 1.5 to 15 m)
- Plant Spread: 180 to 720 inches (15 to 60 feet; 4.5 to 18 m)
- Blooms: Showy. Mid spring in UK (under glass; seldom makes it to flowering); late spring to mid summer in the USA. May bloom at other times in hot areas.
- Flower Details: Purple-Blue (white cultivars also available) when mature. Fragrant. trumpets. Panicles. Last for about two months.
- Leaf Foliage: Bi-pinnate compound - Fern like, up to 20 inches (50 cm) long.
- Fruit Details: Round seed pod. Late summer.
Growing Conditions
- Best Light Conditions: Full sun (or under bright light if grown under glass). Performs best in hot humid areas.
- Suitable Soil Types:Well drained. Slightly sandy.
- Suitable Soil pH: Most soils, but prefers neutral or a slightly acidic soil.
- Soil Soil Moisture: Medium, but water deeply. Container grown plants should be allowed to dry completely between watering.
- Sowing, planting, and Propagation:Sow winged seeds that have been picked from trees once fruit has dried. Take cuttings in early summer (Semi-ripe), insert into pot containing cutting compost, keep in a greenhouse at 0–24°C (68–75°F).
- Care: Frost tender, copes better once established. prune young trees to one main trunk. trim off dead and broken branches, do not remove fresh growth. Low maintenance to look after, but a lot of work to clean up the ground below them following flower drop. Indoor plants susceptible to aphids and whitefly. Large surface roots. Affected by trunk scald. Re-pot container grown Jacaranda into a bigger pot every year using fresh compost. Provide container plants with a fortnightly liquid feed in the summer.
Further Information
- Best used for: Flowering tree. Arched branches make it an ideal canopy plant. Bringing shade to the garden. Short term container plant.
- Family: Bignoniaceae.
- Closely Related Species: Jacaranda, Campsis, Dolichandra, Roseodendron, Spathodea, and Paragonia.
- Miscellaneous: Seed pods are attractive and are often dried and used for decorative purposes. Size means that they do not make good house plants.
- Further Reading and References used for this Jacaranda mimosifolia growing Guide: RHS; Wikipedia
I hope that you enjoyed this guide on how to grow Jacaranda mimosifolia plants. You may also enjoy the following Gardener's HQ growing guides: How to grow Yucca and Eccremocarpus plants.
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