Pretoria Jacaranda Season

Pretoria has something in the region of seventy thousand jacaranda trees along its streets, planted from the 1880s onward, and for two or three weeks in late October they flower simultaneously - a purple canopy over whole suburbs with a carpet of fallen blossom underneath. Herbert Baker Street in Groenkloof is the traditional photograph, and the older eastern suburbs are thick with them. The trees are not South African: Jacaranda mimosifolia comes from South America, and it is classed as an invasive species here, which means existing trees are tolerated in the city but planting new ones is restricted, so the display is slowly ageing. A student tradition holds that a blossom falling on your head means you will pass your exams, which is the sort of thing that survives because the timing matches the exam season. Johannesburg has jacarandas too, but Pretoria is the one with the name.

What you actually see

• The purple canopy - around seventy thousand trees flowering at once for a few weeks.
• Herbert Baker Street - the traditional photograph of an unbroken purple tunnel.
• The invasive status - a South American tree tolerated but not replanted.
• The exam superstition - a falling blossom meaning a pass, timed to the student calendar.

When to go

Late October into early November - the window is short and shifts with the weather. A day driving the suburbs.

Honest expectations

The peak lasts two to three weeks and an early heat wave or storm can strip the trees fast. Streets are residential, so photography means courtesy about driveways and privacy. The trees are ageing and cannot legally be replaced, so the display will thin over decades.

Nearby

The Union Buildings gardens are in the city; the botanical garden is east.