I don't think that I've ever seen the Jacaranda looking so fantastic in Nairobi.
We had one downpour and very wet morning for a few hours early on Tuesday but so far that's it, the sun is still shining!
3 Things that you might not know about
Jacaranda trees
1. Don’t prune a jacaranda as it will spoil
the shape forever. When you prune a
jacaranda it sends up vertical shoots whereas ideally it should retain an
elegant umbrella shape. The make great shade trees not just to line streets but
as a centre piece in a garden, creating an impressive carpet of purple when
their flowers drop.
2. Jacarandas are originally from Brazil. They
are deciduous because of the monsoonal wet and dry seasons. Nairobi’s first
jacaranda trees were planted in around 1926 after Jim Jameson from Kimberly, Australia submitted
his town planning report for the city and got planting in a big way. Elsewhere in Africa, Pretoria is particularly breathtaking in October when their Jacarandas are in bloom.
3. Jacaranda trees are greedy. They drink a
lot and pull a lot of nutrients from the soil which makes it hard to grow much
underneath. They briefly drop their leaves at the end of the dry season. Don’t
place a jacaranda overhanging a swimming pool as their tiny, feathery leaves
will quickly clog the filter.
