Over the Garden Fence: Enjoying the beauty of magnolias and their 100M-year history
With the exceptional beauty of the star magnolia and the saucer magnolia blossoms long gone, what should be in bloom? Another member of the family, the Southern magnolia, quietly begins putting out its white flowers. This demonstrates the remarkable diversity of the magnolia family.
The earlier two species put out blossoms before the foliage arrived. The latest one has leaved out, with its large leathery leaves creating shade just like a tree would and now producing flowers.
You might distinguish between the behaviors by using the term shrubs as the early spring appearance and the word trees for this early summer family member. Clearly the earlier shrub-types need to be pruned or shaped. This tree is an older plant and each time it is pruned the branches seem to settle downward. Some boughs are resting upon the garage roof.
Fossil finds confirm Magnolia 100-million-year history
Magnolias are a classic symbol of the South. Their history goes back 100 million years as proven in fossil finds. They existed even before bees appeared. The pollinator happens to be beetles. The blooms have a fragrance, although subtle.
Asian magnolia cultivars were introduced here in America 1780. They were multi-stemmed but upright and massive. The genus "magnolia" has over 225 trees and shrubs. They come in a wide range of leaf shapes and plant forms as deciduous or evergreen. They tolerate shade. Soil preference is acidic. This need can be met with applications of pine needles or peat moss amendments.
As for the current magnolia here, the flowers open white with cupped petals that vary in count but move on into a creamy color as they age. Some are now almost golden tinged with orange petals remaining in place. That is a nice feature, a ripening with aging but still in the game. The color alteration is visible from the kitchen window. It crosses my mind that they might actually dry well in the blend of borax and cornmeal. Stray blooms appear during a long stretch of time.
As the war with deer continues, magnolia do not have appeal to this urban menace. Little solace there since the blossoms are so high on the tree. Deer cannot climb trees though they can stretch on hind legs for tender foliage.
My feelings about magnolias is one of gratitude. It is an all around stunning ornamental.
Mary Lee Minor is a member of the Earth, Wind and Flowers Garden Club, an accredited master gardener, a flower show judge for the Ohio Association of Garden Clubs and a former sixth grade teacher.
This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Magnolia blooms add beauty to your garden
