Every November, streets like Ardross Street in Applecross disappear under purple. Jacarandas are among Perth's most loved trees, but they're not natives, and living with one raises real questions about size, roots and pruning.
Key Takeaways
Jacarandas flower through late spring and into early summer, and in Perth the show peaks in November, when Applecross holds its Rotary Jacaranda Festival on Ardross Street. The show is short, though. Within weeks that purple carpet is on paving, in gutters and in pools, so factor clean-up into every spring.
A mature jacaranda reaches up to 15 m tall and roughly 10 m across. That scale is what catches people out: a sapling planted a few metres from the house eventually shades half the roof. The umbrella-shaped canopy is the whole appeal of the tree, so good maintenance keeps that shape rather than fighting it.
A tree with a 10 m canopy isn't working a small patch of soil. On Perth's sandy blocks our crews mostly see two issues near mature jacarandas: lifted paving laid close to older trunks, and roots colonising well-watered garden beds. Roots don't break into sound pipes, but they will exploit existing cracks while chasing moisture; our guide to tree roots in pipes and drains covers the warning signs. Jacarandas also hate waterlogged ground, which invites root rot.
Lightly and selectively, yes. Lopping, no. Jacarandas respond to hard cuts by throwing fast, vertical shoots from around the wound, which destroys the natural umbrella shape. Yates puts it plainly: jacarandas do not respond well to pruning. What does work is targeted care: removing deadwood, lifting the canopy for clearance, easing weight off limbs over structures. Our tree pruning crew works to the Australian pruning standard, and our seasonal pruning guide covers timing.
Jacarandas self-seed readily. In south-eastern Queensland the species ranks among the top 200 environmental weeds, and while Perth gardens don't see spread on that scale, it pays to pull stray seedlings early. The bigger calls come when a mature tree declines, drops limbs or outgrows its spot. Approval can still be required depending on your council, so check our guide to council tree removal rules in Perth, then have our tree removal team assess it properly.
If your jacaranda is crowding the house, lifting paving or losing condition, we'll take an honest look. Get in touch with Lumberjacks WA for a free written quote once our team has seen the tree in person.
