SAN DIEGO — If you’ve been wondering where all the beautiful blooming jacaranda trees are in San Diego this year, you’re not alone. It seems the bloom is a little less brilliant this time around.
“They’ve been blooming maybe later than usual and also not as much as previous years,” said Marcela Gracia.
CBS 8 compared footage of the blooming jacarandas from last year on Clairemont Drive to what they look like now, and we noticed a big difference.
“There are not purple flowers anymore,” said one Clairemont resident.
“No, this year it’s nothing,” said Erika Maul while walking her dog along Clairemont Drive.
The jacarandas sprung purple flowers all over last year in Balboa Park, but this year, those same trees are far more sparse.
“They just haven’t been as like, ‘Wow, they’re so purple!’ And so yeah, I don’t know, they’re just a little lackluster this year,” said one woman.
CBS 8 found a few jacarandas blooming well in the downtown area and in Bankers Hill, where Marcela Gracia snapped a photo of her favorite tree outside the Long-Waterman House.
“This is one of the most beautiful ones,” said Gracia. “Every time I go out, I try to look at a different tree.”
So why are we not seeing as much purple this year?
“Jacarandas are tropical trees, they’re used to low water situations, high heat, and we didn’t really get any spring heat, so things are still sleepy to wake up,” said Daniel Kump, district manager for the Davey Tree Expert Company.
“We’re actually getting a lot of calls about jacarandas, people are saying, ‘My tree’s dead! What’s happening?’ Well, they’re just slow to wake up this season because of all the cold weather, the dreary conditions we’ve had, the lack of sunlight, and the lack of heat,” he said.
While things may be looking a little bleak right now, experts say there is still hope that our jacarandas will pull through this season, albeit a little late.
“There still is hope, can’t say it’s going to be a big boom, but we’re just going to see it delayed probably a couple weeks,” said Kump.
In a statement to CBS 8, City of San Diego Forester Brian Widener explained,
"The phenomenon of Jacaranda trees in San Diego blooming later this year than in previous years can be attributed to the unprecedented rain and wet weather of this past winter as well as lower-than-average temperatures over the same time period.
Individual Jacaranda trees have their own varying genetics and can respond to environmental stimuli differently. Still, overall, I think we are seeing a mass response to the wet conditions and cool temperatures that continued into the spring. As temperatures warm and we get more consistent sunshine, we will see our Jacarandas finally start to bloom those familiar purple flowers we look forward to each year."
WATCH RELATED: Jacaranda trees in full bloom around San Diego (May 2022).