Jacaranda Stains on Paving: How to Remove Them (and Prevent Them)

Every October and November, Pretoria turns purple. It's one of the most beautiful sights in South Africa, until the flowers drop onto your driveway, get crushed under tyres and feet, and leave sticky brown-purple marks that seem to last all summer.

Why jacaranda flowers stain

Jacaranda flowers are full of nectar and plant pigments. Crushed on porous paving and then baked in the sun, the sticky residue soaks into the surface and darkens. Add the first summer rains and the residue becomes a food source for mould and algae, so the stain gets worse, not better.

Jacarandas also drop a fine sticky sap from aphids and other insects that feed on the trees. That's the film that coats cars parked underneath.

What you can do yourself

1. Sweep or blow often, ideally every day or two during peak flowering, before flowers get crushed.
2. Don't drive over piles of fresh flowers if you can avoid it.
3. Rinse fresh marks quickly with water and a stiff broom while they're still soft.
4. Keep gutters and drains clear. Flowers and pods block them right before the rains arrive.

Removing set-in stains

Once the stains have dried and baked in, a broom and hose won't do much. A professional pressure clean with a suitable pre-treatment lifts the residue out of the pores of the paving and removes the mould that grows on it. Most clients book their clean after the main flower drop, usually late November or early December, so the paving stays clean for summer entertaining.

Don't forget the walls and roof

Jacaranda flowers and pods also end up in gutters, on flat roofs and against boundary walls. A combined gutter clean and paving clean at the end of the season sorts out everything at once.

Live in a jacaranda-lined street in Pretoria East or Waterkloof? Book your post-jacaranda clean early, because it's our busiest time of year.