What a treat the recent warm, sunny weather has been, allowing us to get on with work in the garden untroubled by wind and rain.

The fine weather has brought some plants into bloom unexpectedly early, including some stunning magnolias. We have several large specimen magnolias at Brockhole, which normally flower in mid-April and throughout May. This year they have all been flowering profusely since the last week in March, two weeks or more ahead of schedule.

The magnolia family is a large one, with more than 125 different species and dozens of hybrids and cultivars. The species come from as far apart as South America and the Himalayas, but they all have the same large, simple flowers and bold, architectural foliage. Most are hardy although both foliage and flowers can be damaged by late frosts.

The first to flower each year at Brockhole is Magnolia stellata from Japan. This is one of the smaller magnolias, slow growing, reaching a height and spread of around ten feet after twenty years or so. The flower buds are grey-green and furry, opening before the leaves to reveal star shaped, fragrant white flowers. It's very easy to grow, needing only a moist, humus-rich soil. Unlike many magnolias, M. stellata will grow just as well on alkaline soils as it will on acid soil.

Another candidate for both soil types is Magnolia x loebneri, a hybrid between M. stellata and M. kobus. At Brockhole we grow a variety called Merrill' which produces hundreds of the most beautiful silky white flowers each spring. Our plant is turning into quite a large specimen; I have watched it grow from around ten feet tall to nearly 25 feet tall in the last 15 years.

Many of the larger tree magnolias do not flower when small, but Magnolia Merrill' has been an exception, having flowered every year for the last 12 years.

Our third magnolia is the pink flowered Magnolia x soulangeana. We have two large specimens, one growing against the front of the house, and the second growing as a tree half way down the garden. I regularly use these two plants as an example of the value of growing early-flowering shrubs in a sheltered position; the flowers on the tree in the garden are often damaged by frost while the plant against the house wall is generally untouched.

Magnolia x soulangeana is one of the most commonly seen magnolias - it will grow on all but the poorest soils and will tolerate town and city atmospheres much more readily than others in the family.

April 10, 2003 11:30