King of Spring; the Magnolia

When it comes to splendour of spring the Magnolia is king. Large gardens in the South West boast dozens of these magnificent trees, some early collections of Magnolia species are now around 100ft tall and in March and April their blooms stand out for miles around!

Magnolia stellata

The history of the Magnolia in cultivation is almost the same as that of the other stalwarts of the 'big house' garden, the Rhododendrons and the Camellias. In the early days (19^th century) if you wanted a Magnolia you would have to sponsor a plant hunter, and these brave men would travel through the wilderness of the Far East in search of Magnolia seed. Then came the wait; Magnolias take an eternity to flower from seed, often somewhere between 20 and 50 years depending on species- growing Magnolias from seed really was an investment in the future of a garden! It is not unlikely that many of the men of wealth who sent the plant hunters out to far flung corners of Asia in search of seed never saw any flowers in return for their investment.

As time has passed Magnolia growing has moved on, and now you can buy some Magnolias in your local garden centre, although visiting a specialist for something special is very much worthwhile. Selection of clones, new propagation methods and good plant breeding have made Magnolias far more accessible to the general market, although Magnolias are still not cheap- they are not easy to graft and take a lot of time to make a plant good enough for sale, so it's unlikely that you will get a good Magnolia for less than £20, and even then it will be fairly small. Price isn't all that much of an issue really; most gardens will only have room for one or two of these trees, so it's a matter of finding the right tree for your budget.

In a previous blog post I mentioned the time-scales involved in breeding Camellias and how that affects their price and makes raising new varieties unattractive to nurseries. Magnolias have the same problem, but much worse! By the time a breeder's Magnolia hybrids are flowering in a stock field 20+ years may have passed since the cross was made and the seeds were sown. Once a new variety is selected from these seedlings (and indeed if a seedling is good enough to select) material must be taken and grafted onto rootstocks to create more propagation material. This process must be repeated for many years; each grafted plant will have to be grown for several years until it is big enough to yield more material for grafting. In order to yield enough material to make enough plants for release onto the market these plants must be grown on and on... Magnolia breeding needs time, space and patience!

Gardeners benefit well from this mammoth breeding task- modern hybrids are often superb, with excellent colour, form and flowering. Some varieties are well known, like Magnolia 'Susan' with it's deep purple flowers, and M. 'Star Wars' with it's open flowers and slightly pointed petals. 

Magnolia 'Susan' in bud

Magnolia 'Star Wars'

 Some flowers are just sublime, like this M. 'Iolanthe' which has a superb scent and enormous mouthwatering flowers.

Magnolia 'Iolanthe'

Some selections are superb for creating 'flower power', such as M. x loebneri 'Merrill', a very good alternative for Magnolia stellata (top).

Magnolia x loebneri 'Merrill'

For sheer beauty M. x soulangiana 'Picture' is awesome, as are some of the yellow Magnolia hybrids, like M. 'Elizabeth'.

M. 'Picture'

M. 'Elizabeth'

If you are making an investment in a Magnolia you must be sure that you can accommodate it. Soil requirements are simple but important; a continually moist but free-draining (NEVER waterlogged) slightly acidic soil is vital. Magnolias will take plenty of sun anywhere with reliably moist soil (this is why they do so well in the west of the UK!), but will tolerate some light shade without any ill effects. Because their flowers and leaves are fairly large Magnolias are best in a spot sheltered from the wind. Also, as they are early flowering plants frost can be an issue- try to site your plant in a spot sheltered from frosts, but also choose the right variety- blooms of a white Magnolia will be visibly damaged by even a light frost, so if in doubt go for a variety with darker flowers so that only damage from hard frosts will be noticeable.

The next important requirement is space, and this is why you must choose your Magnolia carefully and if possible have a good in-depth conversation with a specialist Magnolia grower; some Magnolias have an upright habit (such as M. 'Star Wars') but others are more spreading (such as M. stellata). Make no mistake- you are buying a tree, so it's important to make sure that you have space to fit a Magnolia as well as a Magnolia suitable for the space. On the whole the yellow flowered Magnolias seem determined to make a tree with a straight leader- pruning is very much inadvisable. Your budget will also play a part in your decision... some Magnolias are easier to propagate and grow, so will be available as small plants fairly cheaply (M. stellata is a good example, and M. x loebneri 'Merrill' can be fairly inexpensive) and will flower well as young plants, but some plants are difficult to grow and are naturally more tree-like in habit, so will only be available as larger plants with a larger price tag. It is important to get the right variety- if your heart is set on a large flowered tree then you must save up!