Dying Jacaranda Tree

Does anyone have any advice on bringing a jacaranda tree back to life?  As of now, it gets water whenever the grass gets watered, which is every other day for about 10 minutes.  Any advice would be helpful.

On a side note, how do I add smilies?

Hey James,
it really depends on what's going on with the tree. Is it established? Pests? Drought? We plant a lot of jacarandas here and until they are "tree sized" they often look like they're dying- especially during the dry spells we get in the fall/winter. I've been surprised to see what I thought were dead trees start sprouting when the rain starts again though.

Hey Tereza,
Yes, it is established.  I haven't seen any pests around it.  There is another jacaranda right by it and that one looks to be doing better.  You could be right though, maybe it just looks like it's dying.  Should I be giving it fertilizer or any nutrients in the meantime?

I am assuming you are in North America-- is there a chance it got frost damaged? Maybe the other one is more protected?
Jacarandas are pretty drought tolerant once they're established, so I don't think it's water related. It could be that one has better access to nutrients than the other, or maybe one's roots are getting nibbled by something.
Once you`re past your last frost date, I would give it whatever you normally feed trees. In my garden, that's rabbit manure tea, it could be comfrey tea, bone meal... they say not to go nuts with too much nitrogen since that can stop them from flowering.

Thanks for your insight Tereza.  I think I'll try giving it some food and see if it gets any better.  When do they normally start flowering?

they have to be mature, dr Google tells me 8 years+. Where I live they are the second or third group of trees to flower in the spring (this in zone 9/10/11), so in more temperate places it might be more like late spring/early summer.

On a side note, can I ask you a question about a persimmon tree?  Last year was the first year that it did not produce any fruit.  Just a whole bunch of leaves.  Any way to try and get some fruit this year?

We don't water the Jacarandas at all. We have seasonal rains from June to October. (It used to be May to September!) Like literally they never get any water after October, and they flower from February to May, the first ones to start flowering are in places with slightly more warmth, like in full sun, lower elevations and the later ones to flower tend to be in the shade of other trees. They start flowering after about 10 years when grown from seed. Here they bloom after the mesquite family blooms--keep me in itchy eyes for months!

James Kim wrote:On a side note, can I ask you a question about a persimmon tree?  Last year was the first year that it did not produce any fruit.  Just a whole bunch of leaves.  Any way to try and get some fruit this year?

I'm not the person to ask, as my orange, lemon and mulberry trees didnt produce diddle last year.... our weather was bizarre, but i know there are folks here at permies that really know persimmons. Make another thread and someone will surely give you better info than i can!!

Hi. My full size grown jacaranda was good for about 3 years. I’m in southern California and it’s been a dry hot summer. It’s on a water system but no almost all leaves are brown n sticks are dry.
I see a similar tree a couple of houses away that the leaves are green. I love the tree. Help?

Nikki Lala wrote:Hi. My full size grown jacaranda was good for about 3 years. I’m in southern California and it’s been a dry hot summer. It’s on a water system but no almost all leaves are brown n sticks are dry. It’s been hot and windy here.
There is hardly any green now. But I see a green jacaranda a few houses away
I see a similar tree a couple of houses away that the leaves are green. I love the tree. Help?

If it needs food what should I try.