Jacaranda - growing and care at home, photos of species

Jacaranda is a tree or shrub from the Bignoniaceae family. A tall (sometimes over 20 m) perennial plant has graceful double-pinnate leaves reminiscent of a fern.
Due to its clear resemblance to the ancient plant, jacaranda is sometimes called a fern tree. In its natural environment, the shrub is common in India, Mexico, and Israel. The homeland of jacaranda is the tropical zones of South America. You can grow a tree at home without much hassle. It grows intensively, growing by 0.25 m every year. An adult plant can reach about 2 m if it is not pruned in time. Indoors, jacaranda blooms very rarely, but in nature, flowering occurs in winter or mid-spring.

Numerous purple flowers, similar to bells, form at the tips of fragile shoots. The flowers are collected in large paniculate inflorescences. Jacaranda has another name - Violet tree, derived from the similarity in color of the plants.

Pay attention to the heliconia flower, it looks very impressive.

Botanical description

Jacaranda is a perennial plant of the Bignoliaceae family. Refers to decorative deciduous species. Natural habitat - Mexico, Brazil, South America, Bolivia, Zimbabwe. This plant can thrive both on the plains and in the mountains.

The height of the violet tree reaches up to 30 meters if it grows in outdoor conditions.
In indoor conditions, jacaranda can reach a maximum height of 3 meters. In this case, the plant will not bloom. The tree trunk is smooth, the branches are large and spreading. The leaves are complex in shape, very similar to a fern, and can reach 40-50 cm in length.

The splendor of jacaranda will surprise even a sophisticated connoisseur - its purple flowers with a lilac tint, reaching 3 cm in diameter, are collected in huge bouquets of inflorescences (about 30 flowers), which completely cover the crown during flowering. Sometimes there are specimens with white flowers. It is noteworthy that the tree blooms twice a year.

At the end of flowering, fruits appear on the branches in the form of pods with black seeds. The seeds can be used for subsequent propagation of the tree.

The violet tree deserves attention not only for its attractive appearance, but also for the value of the wood. It is often used to create expensive interior items, as well as various decorative elements and musical instruments.

It is also known that the plant is used in alternative medicine to cure rot.

The only variety suitable for growing indoors is jacaranda mimofolia, which has two varieties - Delta and Magdalena.

Let's talk about the varieties of this extraordinary tree in more detail.

Amaranth Peltogyne

The Amaranth tree belongs to the legume family (lat. Fabáceae) and the subfamily Caesalpiniaceae (lat. Caesalpiniaceae). Botanical name: Peltogyne spp., Peltogyne venosa. Another name is purple tree.

Amaranth is also called Purple Heart, the tree received this name due to the color of its bark.

The genus contains 23 species of flowering plants native to the regions of Central and South America, where they are found in the tropical forests of Brazil, Guyana and Suriname, with the majority of species native to the Amazon.

Botanical description

A tree growing in height 30-50 m, with a trunk diameter of up to 1.5 m. The leaves are alternate, divided into symmetrical pairs of large leaflets 5-10 cm long and 2-4 cm wide. The flowers are small, with five white petals, collected in panicle inflorescences. The fruit is a pod containing a single seed.

Wood

The sapwood occupies approximately 3 to 6 centimeters, and is painted brown with a noble bronze tint. It is noteworthy that initially the heartwood is gray-brown, but after sawing it acquires a rich purple hue. This happens because when interacting with a humid environment and light, the core oxidizes. The pores are quite large and randomly located, and the annual rings are barely noticeable. It has a medium-fine texture with good natural shine and a slightly wavy pattern.

Mechanical properties of wood

Amaranth is a very hard, extremely dense (860 kg/m³) and waterproof wood. But, unfortunately, it has one significant drawback - fragility. Wood is easily amenable to any mechanical processing. However, it is worth considering that the edge of the instruments may become dull over time, because Amaranth produces gum.

Dries quickly and does not require additional drying. It is also worth considering that wood is compressed in the radial direction by 4.6%. In general, wood is resistant to atmospheric influences and has a second strength class. The Brinell hardness is 5.4 kgf/mm², and the flexural modulus is 16900 N/mm.

Amaranth wood is resistant to attacks by various insects and fungi, but is susceptible to the influence of marine mollusks. Allergy to Amaranth occurs extremely rarely.

Application

Amaranth is extremely popular among consumers due to its expressive purple color. Amaranth boards are used to make furniture and art objects. Excellent strength is another advantage of Amaranth. Therefore, it is used in areas where objects are subject to constant loads. For example, they are used to cover floors, cladding cabins or for the production of sports equipment.

Interesting Facts

The parquet floors of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg are made from this particular type of wood.

Uncontrolled logging in areas of natural growth has put some amaranth species at risk of extinction.

In our store you can buy:

• natural veneer Amaranth
• Amaranth block

Varieties and photos

Below are photos and descriptions of jacaranda varieties suitable for propagation and care in greenhouses and at home.

Mimosolifolia

The second name is oval-leaved jacaranda. It grows in the coastal zone of Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia. This variety has a non-branching straight trunk with a lush crown formed from large feathery leaves.

During flowering, the crown is abundantly covered with blue flowers , which reach up to 5 cm in length and 3 cm in diameter. There are small whitish spots on the surface of the flowers. The photo below shows Jacaranda Mimosolia:

Delta

This variety is intended for indoor cultivation and, with proper care, will delight you with the beauty of its fern-like, openwork leaves of light green color. The maximum height of the Delta jacaranda is 2 meters. You can see what the Jacaranda Delta variety looks like in the photo below:

Magdalena

The Magdalena variety is distinguished by the fact that it almost never blooms in indoor conditions. To do this, it needs open ground, which should be planted after reaching a height of two meters. Magdalena looks impressive in office and retail spaces.

Fluffy

Another name is jasmine jacaranda. It grows in South America, reaching 15 meters in its natural environment. The tree got its name for the complex shape of its leaves , thanks to which its crown becomes very voluminous. Purple flowers are attached to a paniculate inflorescence, but achieving flowering, as with other varieties, is quite difficult.

You can see what a jacaranda blossom looks like in the photo below:

How does it bloom?

In nature, jacaranda grows up to 15 meters in height and has wide, pinnately dissected leaves with an elongated light green blade. The tree has large inflorescences with five dozen purple to bluish flowers with jagged calyxes and bell-shaped, slightly drooping and curved corollas.

Jacaranda mimosa has purple-blue inflorescences with small calyxes. The plant with flowers can be seen more often in October and early November. Indoors it blooms twice a year: in spring and autumn. Magdalena and Delta varieties are also used for cultivation.

Care

Jacaranda is demanding to care for. This mainly concerns maintaining the desired temperature and humidity. However, if all conditions are met, the plant will bloom luxuriantly and add a touch of grace to the overall composition of the garden or park. Let's talk about how to care for a violet tree.

Lighting and placement of the pot

The plant feels great in the eastern or western part of the house, because... the south side is dangerous due to direct sunlight, and the north due to lack of heat.

The purchased tree must be accustomed to bright light gradually , otherwise burns may appear on its leaves and it will die. After getting used to it, the pot can be placed in bright sun, but only for a couple of hours a day.

Temperature

The violet tree is accustomed to tropical and subtropical climates. Therefore, it needs to maintain high temperatures. 22-24 degrees is the optimal level that should be followed for growing jacaranda.

In winter you can reduce the temperature to 19 degrees. The lower limit is 16 degrees during the cold period.

To form a beautiful crown, the pot with the plant must be rotated periodically.

Watering and humidity

The plant requires moderate watering. It is necessary when the top layer of soil has dried out. In winter and early spring, when leaves change, watering must be significantly reduced .
However, make sure that the soil is sufficiently moist. Due to the climate in which the violet tree grows, it needs high air humidity. It needs to be sprayed daily with warm water, and for greater effect, pour a little expanded clay into the pan and pour water.

To ensure the tree grows healthy, use well-settled, soft water for watering.

Top dressing

In the warm season - summer and spring, jacaranda needs to be fertilized. Feeding is done approximately 2 times a month . Fertilizers based on phosphorus and superphosphate are considered the most suitable for violet trees. They are best used dry, but concentrate can also be used.

In winter and during the shedding of leaves, the tree should not be fertilized.

Among organic fertilizers, peat, manure, bird droppings, sawdust, tree bark or silt are well suited.

Complex mineral fertilizers , such as “Superphosphate”, “Urea”, “Ammophos”, are widely popular among flower growers.
“Kornevin” and “Heteroauxin” are often used for feeding jacarandas. Feeding can be alternated with each other - this approach promotes healthy growth of the tree.

How to trim?

To form a beautiful tree crown, you need to pinch the tips of the shoots in the spring. The plant is characterized by rapid growth, and therefore its trunk quickly stretches out and becomes bare.

Transfer

It is better to replant jacaranda in the spring as the root system grows . For this, it is important to properly prepare the soil. A mixture of humus with the addition of river sand and peat in equal proportions is suitable.

Provide the plant with a good drainage layer to avoid stagnation of water at the bottom of the flowerpot, which can cause rotting of the tree roots.

Growing conditions for indoor jacaranda

Since it is almost impossible to achieve flowering from jacaranda, it is more appropriate to perceive it as an ornamental foliage plant and approach cultivation accordingly. After all, all the efforts to organize a rest period are still unlikely to pay off. But even so, you need to find the right place for it.

Lighting and placement

Jacaranda loves a bright, but not sunny place and long daylight hours. Soft morning or evening sun (at least 3-4 hours) is suitable for it; it is better to protect the plant from daylight with a diffusing screen. Western window sills can safely be considered an ideal place.

In winter, lighting should be increased as much as possible. Ideally, you need to add additional light to the jacaranda, extending the daylight hours to 12-13 hours. The intensity of lighting in the cold season should correspond to southern window sills. Only the brightest and most stable lighting all year round allows old plants to bloom.

Jacaranda needs to be regularly rotated in relation to the light source for uniform development.

Read about jacaranda also in the article 8 capricious indoor plants that beginners should grow.

Temperature and ventilation

Jacaranda may love the high humidity of the tropics, but it does not tolerate heat in a potted format. It is best to grow it in moderate temperatures, in summer - from 21 to 25 degrees.

Winter mode - with a temperature of about 16 degrees. The minimum temperature that jacaranda can withstand is 12 degrees Celsius, but indoor plants most often suffer already at 15 degrees. If it is possible to compensate for changes in lighting and constantly keep the jacaranda in high humidity, a warm winter is also acceptable.

Jacarandas cannot tolerate drafts; they can only be taken out into fresh air for a few days (at night temperatures above 16 degrees).

Western window sills can be considered an ideal place for jacaranda. ©GardenTags

Reproduction

The violet tree can reproduce in two ways - with seeds and cuttings. We will tell you how this happens further.

Cuttings

A fairly simple method consisting of several steps:

1. First of all, cut the cutting and dry it for several days in a dry, dark place.
2. Place it in a heteroauxin solution so that it grows roots faster.
3. Plant the cutting in moist soil at an angle of 45 degrees. Don't forget to add some peat and river sand to the soil.
4. Cover the future tree with film, ensuring sufficient temperature for plant growth - 25 degrees.

Seeds

At home, planting jacaranda seeds should be done in the spring , after placing them in a moistened cloth for a day. Afterwards, the seeds are covered with a thin layer of soil (1 cm) and watered well. Favorable temperature for growing is 22-24 degrees. Germination time is 2-3 weeks.

You can see what jacaranda seeds look like in the photo below:

Jacaranda loves the sun, and therefore seedlings should be placed in a well-lit place. Grown plants will need to be planted in separate pots with a diameter of 7 cm, and subsequent transplants will be made as they grow.

Bonsai

Growing a bonsai from a jacaranda is not so difficult if, when forming a tree, you do not lose sight of the fact that its branches are quite fragile.

The work is carried out using standard techniques:

• the trunk of a young plant is wrapped with wire;
• bend, giving the plant the desired shape;
• fix the branches at the desired angle using weights;
• all unnecessary shoots are cut off;
• formed branches are pinched, stopping their growth.

Important! Release the tree every six months to rest for about a month. Then fix the barrel again.

The fixing wire can be removed after the jacaranda trunk becomes woody.

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Pests and diseases

Pests often attack this beautiful tree, and therefore you should always know how to combat them. Among the most common parasites :

• Aphid. First of all, it attacks the young leaves of the plant, causing them to curl and become sticky, and gradually the plant dies. If the aphid infestation is minor, treating with a soap solution will help. In other cases, special preparations are recommended: Actellik, Derris, Fitoverm.
• Whitefly. Its larvae can be seen on the bottom of the leaves, which quickly curl, begin to turn yellow and fall off.
• Spider mites are a common pest of indoor plants that entangle the lower part of leaves with their web. The reason for its appearance can be either infection from another plant or improper care, namely low air humidity.
• Small white midges are another enemy that likes to attack jacarandas. To cope with it you will need to spray with one of the drugs: Fufan, Inta-vir, Actellik.

Diseases to which a plant can be exposed are associated with a number of external factors. The most common:

• Leaf chlorosis. Possible reasons: high lime content in the soil, lack of moisture, deficiency of magnesium, sulfur, zinc, iron. This disease is characterized by yellowing of leaves and slow growth. To combat chlorosis, you will need to transplant into fresh soil and high-quality fertilizing with fertilizers.
• Root rotting. It is associated with stagnation of water in the lower part of the flowerpot and the lack of a drainage layer. If a disease is detected, the tree should be replanted and watering should be suspended for a while.
• Leaves turn yellow and curl. This behavior is typical for jacaranda both in the presence of pests and for the most common reasons - too dry air, lack of watering, low room temperature, drafts.

Transfer

To prepare a jacaranda for transplanting you need:

• treat the leaves with a protective spray and trim them;
• prepare a new pot and soil;
• add fresh humus to the soil;
• treat the soil with phosphates.

A transplant may be needed:

• after the purchase;
• because the flower has grown and the pot is cramped;
• due to improper soil;
• due to flower diseases.

Replanting during flowering is undesirable, but is possible only if the plant has been attacked by pests and are beginning to approach the root system.

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