Jacaranda trouble

Carol 83

Flower Girl
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Almost 100% sure yours is a jacaranda (they are everywhere here), our capital city is locally known as the "the jacaranda city" as per picture below and we've had a few of the trees through out my life, so not a expert but i know a bit about them.

And yes, plants tend not like to be too close to heaters and such.
A purple lover's dream :D. Just magical.
 

GunGoose

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Yours is a jacaranda. It is a juvenile. It looks OK for being a tropical tree in winter inside. The soil appears to be too wet. Yours doesn't have any branches yet. All you have are bipinnately compound leaves. Don't be surprised to see the leaves all drop this winter and you just have a stick left. If you don't get the roots in trouble, it should come back nicely in the spring.
Okay that is good the know. I did think the leaves were branches haha. The picture I had posted had been right after watering so it looks really wet. Normally the top of the soil looks really dry but then it is more moist underneath. I will keep an eye on it.
 

GunGoose

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Almost 100% sure yours is a jacaranda (they are everywhere here), our capital city is locally known as the "the jacaranda city" as per picture below and we've had a few of the trees through out my life, so not a expert but i know a bit about them.

And yes, plants tend not like to be too close to heaters and such.
That is cool picture! The flowers look really pretty. I just found out though that it could take 7 years or longer to see them. I guess I gotta be patient....

It is hard to tell if the heater is affecting the plant since it is a foot or 2 away from it. It doesn't feel extra warm there so I think it might be alright.
 

Bonsai Nut

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Jacaranda is a very difficult tree to use for bonsai due to the compound leaves, and weak leggy growth. They are the last tree to bud out in the spring, and the first tree to drop leaves in the fall, with no fall color. However for about two weeks of the year they are the most beautiful thing in your garden.

If you like the foliage of a jacaranda, I would consider Brazilian rain tree. If you like the blooms, I would consider wisteria (though also a challenging tree). I'm just not a fan of jacaranda because the "window of beauty" is so narrow. Compare, for example, to a Japanese maple, where you get four seasons of beauty. So many other trees where the return on your time investment is much higher.
 

Cajunrider

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Jacaranda is a very difficult tree to use for bonsai due to the compound leaves, and weak leggy growth. They are the last tree to bud out in the spring, and the first tree to drop leaves in the fall, with no fall color. However for about two weeks of the year they are the most beautiful thing in your garden.

If you like the foliage of a jacaranda, I would consider Brazilian rain tree. If you like the blooms, I would consider wisteria (though also a challenging tree). I'm just not a fan of jacaranda because the "window of beauty" is so narrow. Compare, for example, to a Japanese maple, where you get four seasons of beauty. So many other trees where the return on your time investment is much higher.
I prefer Tamarindus indica over Brazilian rain tree.
 

eugenev2

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Jacaranda is a very difficult tree to use for bonsai due to the compound leaves, and weak leggy growth. They are the last tree to bud out in the spring, and the first tree to drop leaves in the fall, with no fall color. However for about two weeks of the year they are the most beautiful thing in your garden.

If you like the foliage of a jacaranda, I would consider Brazilian rain tree. If you like the blooms, I would consider wisteria (though also a challenging tree). I'm just not a fan of jacaranda because the "window of beauty" is so narrow. Compare, for example, to a Japanese maple, where you get four seasons of beauty. So many other trees where the return on your time investment is much higher.
Keep in mind the concept of "growing locally", i doubt the jacaranda was a local tree for the OP, but for example in my own case, part of the reason i'm attempting jacaranda bonsai trees is because they are so prevalent here and things like Brazilian rain trees aren't, although Brazilian ironwoods (leopard tree) are. The reason why i'm sitting with have about 100 Brazilian ironwood seedlings, so giving them a shot as well :)

But i think in most peoples case a number of the traits such as compound leaves aren't known until they start the tree as a bonsai and start researching it
 

eugenev2

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Okay that is good the know. I did think the leaves were branches haha. The picture I had posted had been right after watering so it looks really wet. Normally the top of the soil looks really dry but then it is more moist underneath. I will keep an eye on it.
A tip for the watering, use the chopstick trick. Put a chopstick in the soil at least a inch or 2 deep for about 5 mins and then pull it out to check the moisture on it. This works for all trees, the "wetness" level simply differs per tree and species. It's a much better indicator and disturbing than sticking your fingers in the soil every time or simply eyeballing it.
Note though, that this is not a perfect method, you will still need to learn the trees watering habit
 

GunGoose

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A tip for the watering, use the chopstick trick. Put a chopstick in the soil at least a inch or 2 deep for about 5 mins and then pull it out to check the moisture on it. This works for all trees, the "wetness" level simply differs per tree and species. It's a much better indicator and disturbing than sticking your fingers in the soil every time or simply eyeballing it.
Note though, that this is not a perfect method, you will still need to learn the trees watering habit
I will give it a try. Thanks!
 

GunGoose

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Jacaranda is a very difficult tree to use for bonsai due to the compound leaves, and weak leggy growth. They are the last tree to bud out in the spring, and the first tree to drop leaves in the fall, with no fall color. However for about two weeks of the year they are the most beautiful thing in your garden.

If you like the foliage of a jacaranda, I would consider Brazilian rain tree. If you like the blooms, I would consider wisteria (though also a challenging tree). I'm just not a fan of jacaranda because the "window of beauty" is so narrow. Compare, for example, to a Japanese maple, where you get four seasons of beauty. So many other trees where the return on your time investment is much higher.
I currently have a few "pine like"(Pinus Thunbergii and Pinus Aristata) bonsai tree and the jacaranda tree. All my pine trees seem to be growing very slowly and look somewhat similar. I have become pretty attached to my jacaranda simply b/c it has been growing faster and looks much different haha. I have been thinking of trying another tree soon. I have been eyeing the wisteria b/c the pictures of it blooming look cool. I will check out the Brazilian rain tree though. I also have a lot of seed from apple and pear trees I was planning of experimenting with as well.
 

Bonsai Nut

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I currently have a few "pine like"(Pinus Thunbergii and Pinus Aristata) bonsai tree and the jacaranda tree. All my pine trees seem to be growing very slowly and look somewhat similar. I have become pretty attached to my jacaranda simply b/c it has been growing faster and looks much different haha. I have been thinking of trying another tree soon. I have been eyeing the wisteria b/c the pictures of it blooming look cool. I will check out the Brazilian rain tree though. I also have a lot of seed from apple and pear trees I was planning of experimenting with as well.
I hope I don't sound like I'm saying "don't do this". Rather, I consider it an advanced tree for a lot of reasons - so unless you really, really, really want it... perhaps consider something else :)

Some people launch into a new tree without stopping to consider the difficulty factor :) I wish you nothing but success with your jacaranda and hope you can share awesome photos with us in the future! Perhaps also grab a few trees that do well outdoors in Washington. You absolutely need some junipers, Chinese elms, and Japanese maples to hang out with your pines :)
 

Hawk Force

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The only jacaranda I have seen as nice bonsai have been quite large, 5-6”+ trunks and 40”+ in height. This is because the leaves are so large, don’t reduce very well and need to be in scale with the tree. Most so called jacaranda that you see on the web are actually wisteria. Well executed jacaranda bonsai are very rare.
So far I’ve been able to reduce leaf size quite a bit. I also have a bald cypress I’m working on and have reduced it’s leaf size by a lot. Probably due to over manipulation of the trunk! LoL stunted, maybe.
 

Hawk Force

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I currently have a few "pine like"(Pinus Thunbergii and Pinus Aristata) bonsai tree and the jacaranda tree. All my pine trees seem to be growing very slowly and look somewhat similar. I have become pretty attached to my jacaranda simply b/c it has been growing faster and looks much different haha. I have been thinking of trying another tree soon. I have been eyeing the wisteria b/c the pictures of it blooming look cool. I will check out the Brazilian rain tree though. I also have a lot of seed from apple and pear trees I was planning of experimenting with as well.
I really like the leaf style of the Jacaranda, so I’m working on a Tamarind also. It’s kind of cool the way the leaves close at night and in the heat of the day. Acacias close at night too.
 

Hawk Force

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A pic from bald cypress, stunted and not. They are same age. Lil leaves have been around as long as the larger ones.
 

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Baku1875

Shohin
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Jacaranda is a very difficult tree to use for bonsai due to the compound leaves, and weak leggy growth. They are the last tree to bud out in the spring, and the first tree to drop leaves in the fall, with no fall color. However for about two weeks of the year they are the most beautiful thing in your garden.

If you like the foliage of a jacaranda, I would consider Brazilian rain tree. If you like the blooms, I would consider wisteria (though also a challenging tree). I'm just not a fan of jacaranda because the "window of beauty" is so narrow. Compare, for example, to a Japanese maple, where you get four seasons of beauty. So many other trees where the return on your time investment is much higher.
also, mexican poinciana
caesalpina mexicana
 

GunGoose

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I would like to update the status of my tree. It looks like the leaves falling off was just because it was winter. I did not like seeing it in withered state for a few months haha, but now it has a lot of new growth. It seems to be growing a new set of leaves every few weeks which is cool! I have attached some images of it below. Thanks for the help!

It has also gotten taller!
image0 (12).jpegimage2 (3).jpeg
 

Hawk Force

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My Blue Jacaranda, doing well. Just moved across the country and it’s fine.
 

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