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Magnolias
Autumn is the perfect time to plant trees that will flower in the spring as this gives the plant plenty of time to settle with its root systems before it has to put on growth in the spring. Most magnolias need a few years in the ground to establish themselves before they will flower reliably so do not be disappointed if you have to wait a bit before flowers appear. The advantages of planting in the autumn are that there will be a lot less watering needed in the next year because the rots can establish themselves at this time of year better as the top part of the tree is dormant during the winter season. Planting in spring time results in stress on the plant as it is trying to flower, grow and establish roots at the same time. 'Don't be shy have your say - share your views' Register for FREE if you have not already registered and then click HERE and to create a NEWTOPIC and tell us about your some of your favorites? Click here to view MORE ARTICLES
The ideal position is in a wooded environment or filtered light with no early morning sun directly on the plant. Magnolias favour a neutral ton acid soil since in their natural woodland environment they would have years of leaf mould around them. Watering is key in the autumn as anyone who has had magnolias before may have noticed some buds getting almost to opening stage and then dropping off. This is due to a shortage of water in the preceding autumn. In the natural environment, when the trees lose their leaves the water falls directly to the woodland floor where the magnolias thrive and are setting themselves up ready for flowering in the spring. Magnolia stellata is the earlier flowering variety with star like flowers in whites and shades of pink and is definitely susceptible to scorch on the flower if the early morning sun can touch it.
Magnolia soulangiana is more of a tulip shape flower again ranging in colours from whites through to pinks and plum shades. Whereas Magnolia stellata has a more rounded almost bonsai appearance as it grows, Magnolia soulangiana varieties tend to be much more vigorous and therefore need more space There are many species magnolias of various shapes and sizes of which I would mention a few favourites to look out for:- Magnolia rustica rubra- a very old variety with rounded deep pink flowers and compact habit growing to about fifteen feet in as many years Magnolia liliiflora nigra-a super dark flowered variety with goblet -like flowers and well worth the space in the garden in my opinion Magnolia wilsonii-slightly more lime tolerant than most magnolias and has white flower with a red centre, it will reach over 6 metres in the wild and flowers over a month later than most other deciduous magnolias. There is a whole new area that I have not mentioned of the evergreen magnolias, mostly grandiflora types which have large white fragrant flowers in the summer which thrive in a warm position with afternoon sun Click here to view MORE ARTICLES 'Don't be shy have your say - share your views' |
