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Underneath the purple rain

By TIMES STAFF WRITER
Published April 29, 2007

Long before weather satellites, GPS gadgets and sonar, savvy fishermen in Ozona watched a certain jacaranda tree in the springtime. "They waited for this tree to bloom, " said former North Pinellas Historical Museum director Winona Jones, who talked to the anglers. "That told them when it was time to go get the kingfish." Today, the tree, at Belcher and Curlew roads in Palm Harbor, still draws its share of attention. It was planted by Lucy Hartley, the oldest daughter of the family that built the Hartley house, which became the historical museum.

Lucy paid a quarter for the tree at a yard sale held by Curlew Methodist Church, Jones said. She planted it more than 80 years ago.

In Pinellas, the golden age of the jacaranda, a native of Argentina, lasted through the 1950s and '60s, said Bruce Turley, owner of Wilcox Nursery in Largo.

Today Turley still sells them - $21.95 for a tree in a 3-gallon bucket - but would he have one himself?

"Gosh no, not on your life, " he said. "They are trashy trees, quite frankly, that only look good a couple weeks of the year.

"The problem is that if they become real large trees, and they are big for many residential properties, those types of exotics don't tend to have the durability to wind damage."

The fragrant, showy flower of the jacaranda blooms any time from April though August, most often in May after a couple of wintery, 30-degree nights. And Pinellas is the farthest north that the purple, trumpet-shaped flower blooms.

It's well-adapted to the weather here, said Andy Wilson, horticulturist at the Pinellas County Extension Service in Largo.

With its shady canopy, the tree is great over porches, but it's not suited for a backyard spot by the pool.

And always wipe your feet after walking over the fallen flowers. They stick to your shoes.

[Last modified April 29, 2007, 08:03:04]