Britain’s most magnificent magnolia!
LAST month, we invited you to send in pictures of your most magnificent magnolia with the chance to win a prize worth £500. Hundreds of entries came in from around the country. Here we are delighted to present the winner, as chosen by the Daily Mail’s Wee
SEEING the pictures of magnolias sent in by Mail readers has been a joyous reminder of what a superlative seasonal addition to our streets and gardens these trees and shrubs have become.
Choosing one from the hundreds you sent in was invidious, but this winning tree — smothered with blooms that are both dramatic and elegant — pictured in his garden in Surrey by Vincent Monsey, is a truly superb specimen.
Magnolias include some of the most magnificent flowering trees on the planet, from Magnolia grandiflora with its evergreen leaves and huge football- sized flowers to the M. campbelli that towers 100ft tall, its bare branches carrying great pink cup and saucers of flower in early spring.
There are more than 200 species and they are one of the oldest and most primitive of our flowering trees. Their flowers evolved to be pollinated by beetles, which gave rise to their extra-thick sepals and petals to avoid damage.
Many species are tender and will not survive in any but the mildest British gardens. Others require a distinctly acidic soil in order to thrive. But two species with more adaptability have come to dominate our modern gardens and streets.
The first to flower is Magnolia stellata, the star magnolia from Japan. This is perhaps the easiest to grow, adapting to most soils and situations, although happiest in sunshine. The other favourite is Magnolia x soulangeana.
There are many names, clones and cultivars and all tolerate a degree of pollution — which is why they became so popular for roadside suburban developments in the 1920s and 30s.
In my garden, I grow M. x soulangeana ‘ Black Tulip’ and although it’s very hardy, most years the flowers get hit by late frost — although this late spring I am keeping my fingers crossed.
But whatever magnolia you grow, each and every one is blessed with glorious flowers.
Always position new plants in a sunny, protected site and keep them well watered. Pruning is largely unnecessary save to remove any damaged shoots or branches. With time and care, you never know, you, too, could one day have a magnificent magnolia like this in your garden.