MAGNIFICENT MAGNOLIAS
These sensational goblet-shaped f lowers are icons of early spring
LBut, as a plant group, they are much more diverse. And almost without exception they’re spectacularly beautiful.
some become massive 30-metre trees. Others are compact enough to thrive in a container. Most bloom in early spring, but there are also summer magnolias. Flower colours run through rosy purples and pinks to white, yellow or even green.
Magnolias are thought to prefer acid soil. Many do. though most varieties grow happily in neutral soil and many tolerate lime. they are mainly hardy in this country and easy to grow.
spring is the main flowering season so this is an excellent time to plant. Prices can be high. But if you select a large specimen, it could flower over the coming weeks. the popular Magnolia x
soulangeana has large blooms and comes in about 20 varieties. Flower colours run from the intense purple-pink of Rustica
Rubra to white Lennei Alba. Most grow naturally as large shrubs. One, the white-flowered
M. x s. Brozzoni develops into a shapely, single-trunked tree.
M. x soulangeana varieties are lovely for gracing a large lawn or a shrubbery. But avoid them if space is limited. they respond horribly to pruning and can be difficult to keep to size.
SMALL BUT STRONG
FOr limited spaces, there’s still plenty of choice. Japanese
Magnolia stellata grows slowly to about 2.5m high with a spreading habit.
each spring, furry buds open to reveal masses of multipetalled, snow-white flowers. the pink-flushed white Jane Platt is more compact and, smaller still, there’s pink flowered M. stellata Rosea. One of the best hybrids, M. x loebneri, results from crossing
M. stellata with M. kobus — another Japanese species with goblet-shaped flowers.
I grow M. x loebneri Leonard Messel, whose many-petalled flowers are lilac-mauve, but there’s a taller, white-flowered variety, Merrill. All magnolias mentioned so far are hardy, but a sharp frost can scorch the flowers. You can protect small plants with fleece if frost is forecast. On large ones, you have to cross your fingers.
If your garden is especially frost-prone, plant a slightly later variety. two hybrids — purplish susan and bright pink Jane — look their best in May.
SUMMER BEAUTIES
POPULAR magnolias are easy to grow. spring varieties dislike windy positions, however, and can languish in drought. so, if your soil is thin or nutrient-poor, beef it up with compost and mulch your shrubs.
summer magnolias are made of sterner stuff, such as the evergreen M. grandiflora. Big glossy leaves contrast with creamy, fragrant flowers. the hardiest variety for the uK climate is exmouth, but in a mild area, go for Goliath, whose blooms can be 30cm across.
Deciduous summer magnolias are beautiful, too. the prettiest,
M. sieboldii, has white flowers with maroon centres. they bloom sporadically all summer.
M. wilsonii has marooncentred white flowers, which hang curiously from the branches. to enjoy these, you need to lie on your back and gaze through the branches.
But there are worse ways to spend a summer afternoon. et’s take a more careful look at magnolias. It’s easy to see them just as lawn trees — popular in old-fashioned front gardens.