How can I make my seedling jacaranda recover

Question

I've grown a jacaranda tree from seed a few months ago. It was developing ok until a few days ago when I found it in a really bad condition. I guess it was the cold weather (I'm in South America and its getting cold around here).

Now it has the branches down and some fell off. It has only three branches still green. It's in a small pot, it doesn't get any direct sunlight and I am keeping it inside during the night to avoid the low temperatures.

What can I do to rescue it from this condition?

(you can see some pictures of it at http://jacarandakisu.tumblr.com/)

Answer 1

The Jacaranda is hardy to USDA zone 9 or −1.1 °C (30 °F). Seedlings are probably more sensitive so I would not recommend keeping it outdoors if night time temperatures can go below +4.4 °C (40 °F). They like a lot of light so keeping it indoors by sunny window is a good choice.

Keep it in a warm sunny location with a regular water schedule and it will recover.

Edit: for a seedling your finger can be used as a soil moisture tester. Put your finger in the pot up to the first joint. If the soil at that level is moist, leave it be. If it's dry, water it until water comes out the bottom of the pot. Don't let the plant sit in water or in a pot without drainage.