Eleanor Clarke
OUTDOOR PLANTS
Spotlight On: Magnolia
After the lean, mean months of winter, the sight of a magnolia tree in full flower can be
intoxicating. The sheer size of the blooms. The shimmering pink or rich cream of the petals. The luxurious down of the bud casings. And, if you get up close, the perfume… Welcome to the
glamour girls of spring!
Aside from tulip and daff-watching, our spring fixations at The Nunhead Gardener have been focused on a particular magnolia just down the road. We’ve even stopped to stroke its beautiful furry buds, plumping up day by day in the sunshine. And now that those buds have opened, it’s as if a huge chandelier of giant white waterlilies has been flicked on, a streetlight of
extraordinary brilliance.
It’s the clean, elegant shape of magnolia flowers that is so alluring – nothing comes close. But although they look unbelievably contemporary, believe it or not these plants actually date back to the dinosaurs, pre-bees even. They were, and still are pollinated by beetles.
Why Choose Magnolia?
If yours is a city garden, you’ll probably only have room for one, maybe two magnolias, so it’s important to do your research.
There are plenty of spring-flowering magnolias to choose from, but those best suited to smaller spaces are Magnolia x soulangeana, Magnolia liliiflora and Magnolia stellata. All are reasonably sized and pretty easy to grow. Here’s a brief rundown of what to expect.
1 Magnolia x soulangeana
This is the one most of us probably think of when we picture a magnolia. Big, upright goblet flowers pink-flushed white; Magnolia x soulangeana ‘Alba’ is pure white, while ‘Rustic Rubra’ is a lovely deep rose pink. The soulangeanas reach around 6-8m in height and spread.
2 Magnolia liliiflora
This variety of magnolia has more slender petals and, importantly for city gardens, is much more compact at around 3m in height and spread. It flowers a lot later than soulangeana and stellata, in late spring/early summer and the flowers are a deep wine colour.
3 Magnolia stellata
As the name suggests, this one has star-shaped flowers, in pure white. It’s a gorgeous compact shrub, to around 3m in height and spread – ideal for a front garden.
Photo – Anna Kumpan
Weave in some white
There are evergreen, summer-flowering magnolias too, like Magnolia Grandiflora, which has deep green, glossy leaves and large white, camellia-esque flowers that bloom on and off throughout summer and autumn. Some have an attractive rusty suede-like reverse to the leaves. ‘Little Gem’ is a good one to look out for: conical, and compact (up to 5m in height an dspread), it’s a glamorous and manageable choice for a London garden.
Photo – Anna Kumpan
How to plant and care for your magnolia
The thing magnolias hate the most is root disturbance. Which means they’ll happily grow in a patio, with a slab lifted out and filled with compost. It also means if you’re planting a new bed with a magnolia at its centre, you should plant everything else at the same time, then leave it be.
Magnolias also dislike dry soil, but thrive on London clay. Either way, prepare your planting hole in advance, digging in plenty of compost or leafmould. Take care with the roots when planting as damage can be fatal, then make sure it’s well watered during its first year especially, which will give it the chance to really get its roots deep down into the soil.
Pruning is best done in late summer, although it’s wise to leave magnolias to spread gracefully, if you can.
As always, if we don’t have the exact magnolia you’re looking for, ask and we may be able to source it.
