The jacaranda trees of Australia’s east coast are set to return with a violet vengeance in 2023, experts from the Botanic Gardens of Sydney say.
In 2022, their purple pom poms popped out much later than usual, and when they finally arrived, their flowering seemed half-hearted, not nearly as brilliant as in years gone by.
The late, not-so-great jacaranda bloom of 2022 was due to constant east coast rain and cloudy conditions, but this year’s weather has been completely different and the effects should soon be on display for all to enjoy.
“This year has been much warmer and drier than last year and jacarandas are pretty tolerant of those sort of conditions,” Brett Summerell, Chief Scientist at the Botanic Gardens of Sydney told 9News.
2023 was Sydney’s wettest year on record, and plenty of other spots up and down Australia’s east coast also saw their wettest recorded year.
But with La Niña and its frequent heavy rains behind us, Summerell says the absence of sodden, saturated soils, plus the warmest July on record in large parts of Australia, should ensure that jacarandas produce their trademark burst of colour in October and November.