Magnolia Appeal

I have been thinking about Magnolias . Their moment is almost upon us , if the temperatures would just go up a bit and spring shake off its extreme disinclination .

I have just come back from give talks in Ireland and , while talking to the fine hoi polloi of the Cork Hardy Plant Society , we stay in a lovely theater calledBallyvolane . It is one of those hotel that is not at all like a hotel at all but like somebody ’s family . Albeit quite a large and well-off house with very good solid food . Anyway , my point is that the garden was constellate with some fantastic looking magnolia : great moss covered trunks , fat furry buds but alas no flowers just yet . Very frustrating indeed …

Magnolias were first class in about 1700 and were named after the French botanist Pierre Magnolia . This name is a bit of a fresh invention as there were Magnolias lolling around the world about 95million class ago There are about 200 specie of Magnolia today , scattered about the world from south - east Asia to the USA and the West Indies .

We have no aboriginal magnolia in Britain so all of ours are garden mixed bag . Sometimes growing them is a bit of a gamble as they mostly ask a somewhat acid soil and a mild climate .

you may be lucky but a late hoar is very destructive . I always commemorate a big specimen of Magnolia soulangeana that grow in a garden which we passed when take my children to school . Every sidereal day you could see the buds swelling a bit more until , eventually , a little number of coloration begin to pry out and the blossoming start . That night the temperature suddenly dropped to freeze spot and the next day every flower was brown and droop . It was a philia rending ken , although of course the tree diagram was fine and the following year the gamble pay off .

So with Magnolias it is a matter of “ Ask yourself , Do I finger lucky , punk rock ? Well do ya ? ”

Among my favourite magnolia are ;

Magnolia campbellii – there is an awful specimen of this in a garden called Borde Hill in Sussex . In fact , if you like Magnolias you should probably hop-skip on a carpenter’s plane right now as they are flowering as I write .

Magnolia dealbata – native to Mexico and a genuine drop idle gorgeous rarity . I have only seen it once , on the West Coast of Scotland where the weather is uncommonly meek .

Magnolia stellata – possibly not the most exciting variety ( it has four petalled headliner shaped flowers ) but it is fairly problematic and humble enough for a magnanimous container or pocket-sized front garden .

Magnolia grandiflora ( an American assortment , give thanks you very much ) – a wonderful large evergreen tree which prime in the belated summer . The flowers are creamy and the size of a boxing baseball glove .

Magnolia Theodora – the child of M. Dark Shadow and M.campbellii Maurice Foster . prime that grade attractively from darkest to palest pink .

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