Jacaranda Tree Not Blooming
If your jacaranda tree fails to bloom, check these factors and adjust accordingly: Age: Depending on how they are grown, jacarandas may bloom for the first time between two and fourteen years after planting. Grafted trees tend to produce their first blooms on the earlier side of this range, while trees grown from seed can take much longer. If your tree is younger than this, patience may be all that is necessary. Soil fertility: Jacarandas are believed to flower best when they are grown in poor soil. Excessive nitrogen may be the culprit when you have jacaranda flower problems. Nitrogen tends to promote growth of foliage, not flowers, and many plants, including jacaranda species, will fail to bloom or bloom poorly if they are given too much nitrogen fertilizer. Even fertilizer runoff from a nearby lawn can suppress flowering. Sunlight and temperature: Ideal jacaranda flowering conditions include full sun and warm weather. Jacarandas won’t flower well if they receive fewer than six hours of sunlight each day. They also won’t bloom in excessively cool climates, although the trees might appear to be healthy. Moisture: Jacarandas tend to produce more flowers during droughts, and they do better in sandy, well-draining soil. Be sure not to overwater your jacaranda. Wind: Some gardeners believe that salty ocean breezes can harm a jacaranda and suppress flowering. Protecting your jacaranda or planting it in a spot where it won’t be exposed to wind could help it flower. Despite all this, sometimes no cause can be found for a jacaranda that refuses to bloom. Some gardeners swear by more unusual strategies to coax these trees into bloom, such as hitting the trunk with a stick each year. If yours doesn’t seem to respond no matter what you do, don’t worry. It might decide, for reasons of its own, that next year is the right time to flower.
