Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Jacaranda Sap


It's not secret that things took a turn for worst last week.  My world came to a halt today as I walked outside and noticed sap on my Jacaranda tree.  I don't know what this is and I am calling on you Jacaranda fans to help me out with this tree.  My heart is broken.  While the leaves are fried and have fallen off, the tree appears fine.  There is still green bendy stuff under the bark, but I noticed these sap bubbles on the bark. Can't see them?  Let's take a closer look.
Jacarandas are one of my focal plants in the garden and it is a plant that carries you away to another place.  It's hard to look at because I've never seen the plant do this in its' 3 year life span. It has grown large and last year produced beautiful lavender flowers.  Does anyone know what this may be? Have you had this happen? What happened in Spring? It was definitely caused by the severe freeze at 17-18 degrees for more than 3 hours.

I hope it's nothing serious.  In most cases, the Jacaranda may die back and it will send up new shoots in the Spring.  I'm hoping we can skip that phase and just have it continue to grow from where it's at. Ideas? Suggestions? Opinions?  Gracias:)
I found more information about diseases etc. from this link...
ftp://cals.arizona.edu/dept/yuma/HandoutsUAYuma/LANDSCAPE%20PLANTS/(7)%20DISEASES/Diseases%20of%20Landscape%20Trees.pdf
It's my belief that the hard freeze created ice crystals in the trunk and exploded creating these sap bubbles.  The interesting part will be to see if this tree will start from the roots or if the main trunk will still leaf out.  Stay tuned as I'll keep everyone uptodate.
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11 comments:

  1. ProsperoFebruary 9, 2011 at 7:33 AM

    I've never seen such bubbling on a legume tree. I think you may be correct about the frost, though. In Bermuda, we never get frost and the few Jacaranda trees we have seem to thrive.

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  2. AnonymousFebruary 9, 2011 at 10:13 AM

    Hi rohrerbot, hope you are fine.
    Its a good post because I came to know about Jacaranda first time ever in my life from your this post. And I am also heart broken to see that lovely tree in such condition. Hope its all ok or may be its a seasonal change. love your blog. Please keep updating us about that tree.
    rabia

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  3. RohrerbotFebruary 9, 2011 at 1:22 PM

    Thank you for your comments:) I'll keep everyone updated on this situation.....March will be the telling point. I have never seen this on the tree before....interesting indeed!

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  4. Steve AsbellFebruary 9, 2011 at 7:47 PM

    I've seen that on severely freeze damaged trees before... and those temps are waaay too cold for a jacaranda, though I have seen them return from the ground before. I'll try to find out more.

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  5. Robert's Tropical Paradise GardenFebruary 9, 2011 at 7:57 PM

    I live in Fort Lauderdale and we grow Jacarandas here without this problem. Check out IFAS and plug in the name of the tree and see what they come up with.

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  6. RohrerbotFebruary 9, 2011 at 8:32 PM

    Thanks guys. I'll type this out. I was going to speak with my neighbor who has the largest Jac on the block....we don't know each other but I know his beautiful tree. I'm going to stop by his place tomorrow and see what his tree did....it's at least 15 years old.

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  7. RohrerbotFebruary 13, 2011 at 12:41 PM

    Hi all,
    Here's the follow up with the neighbor who has a 15 year old Jac in his yard. It too was fried and he doesn't seem too concerned. However, he didn't have the sap issue that I have perhaps due to the age of his tree and my 3 year old tree. The tree appears to be stablizing and looks like it may be alright. I always have a good laugh when I randomly go up to people and meet them....the older gentleman was really nice...not dressed....but really nice and has a wonderful garden full of beautiful plants. He's another gem in our neighborhood. He told me, "Don't touch it. Let spring decide for you." Okay. I won't touch. I'll keep you posted on the tree's condition in spring. For pictures and a vid on my jacaranda, just visit my very first blogs from last year in March and April to see what it looks like with leaves and flowers!!!

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  8. RohrerbotMarch 20, 2011 at 12:32 PM

    New leaves are forming today 3/20/11 at 11:00 AM on lower trunk. Main trunk appears okay. We'll see if new leaves begin to form up the tree. The tree is not lost however and that is good news.

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  9. RohrerbotMarch 29, 2011 at 5:55 PM

    Today is 3/29/11 and there is new growth to about 6 feet up. The other 6 feet on the top of part of the tree show no signs of buds. While the tree is not dead, it is too soon to know if the other half is gone.

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  10. RohrerbotApril 23, 2011 at 1:45 PM

    4/23/11-Jacaranda has come back halfway. As I feared, the sap on the upper limbs means death to those limbs. The reason why I didn't lose the entire tree was because I wrapped the trunk with insulation and where the tree was wrapped is where the tree came back. Unfortuneatly, the other 2 Jacs are completely dead. They were covered with blankets which obviously didn't work. ....insulation.

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  11. RohrerbotJune 11, 2011 at 3:14 PM

    Another update. No flowers, but the tree has really greened up and made a comeback. I am thankful that it is alive and strong. It would have been a hard plant to lose.

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