Magnolia Stellata
Magnolia Stellata
So many Magnolias to choose from, the hardiest of them all is Stellata. I have seen this one growing very well in Aberdeen, however I have given up on it.
After several attempts over the years I have decided that our garden which is in a bit of a frost pocket is just not suitable, well thats my excuse.
The silky buds open, star shaped and the profuse blooms are pure white, flowering early/mid Spring before the leaves open.
Although the blooms are not the cup shape which we associate with Magnolia you will nevertheless find growing such a plant very satisfying. I have seen a number of these plants growing in the west end of Aberdeen, not just surviving but in fact flourishing.
Plant in a sunny sheltered spot in moist well drained acid/neutral soil.
Hardiness = Fully hardy in the posh end of town
Height = 6/7ft
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Another Magnolia which I have also seen in Aberdeen is Soulangeana. This is the one we would all wish to have.
Although I have come across Soulangeana on a couple of occasions in Aberdeen they were definitely not thriving. Sickly looking plants with a few flowers. If you have had success please get in touch with me.
Two or three gardening friends from across the Atlantic quiz me on the difficulty that I have with Magnolia. There surprise is in the fact that Camellia grows well here so why not Magnolia. I have a suspicion that the cool Spring and Summer temperature here in Aberdeen perhaps prevent the buds from developing, I don’t think it has anything to do with the soil which is a little on the acidic side. I must admit I would like to know for sure what the problem is.
I had been thinking quite recently, do I add a blog post, not often enough or maybe too often. Well reading a post on Elephantseye I can see that others also ponder over this.I have come to the decision that I will post twice per week, on Mondays and Thursdays. When the gardening season is at its busiest, I may find that I am more comfortable with one posting per week.
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The two photographs above are not my own, they are stock photos which I have had for a number of years. If you happen to be the photographer contact me and I will either delete them or add your name as photographer. Come April my friends Robert and Dawn have a neighbour with a Magnolia Stellata which does well, I will take a picture of it and remove the one above. As for Soulangeana my daughter in Cheshire has a beauty in her garden, I will pay her a visit, not just for this purpose, but it will be a bonus.
Well Jack, I guess we never give up trying. We are now living in Fife and guess what, I have just planted a Stellata.
My wife wants a Stellata in the garden. I am going to have one last go. I live 30 miles north of Aberdeen and have had several failures. Yet garden centres and stores keep selling them . I will try to shelter from late April frosts and then see how it goes. I do not hold out much hope.
Thanks for the information Mark, I will check these out.
Alistair, shame that both Stellata and Soulangeana don’t do well for you. Although not entirely surprising as the buds are sensitive to late frosts which I can imagine your location is prone to.
I wonder if Magnolia ‘Atlas’ would be a much better performer in your garden. Magnolia macrophylla var. ashei I can recommend too, this one flowers in late May here and as a small plant too, ours first flowered when it was only a foot tall.
Thanks for the visit Laura, agree whole heartedly with post frequency.
Hi Alistair – Magnolias are those perfectly beautiful trees that are liable to imperfections. Often a late frost or Spring rain gets them and then quite frankly they look browned off and shabby. The purity of the white rarely remains unstained and don’t like the pinky red ones at all.
As for frequency of posting, twice a week is probably best for readers as well as you. Any more and none of us would get any gardening done!
Janet, thanks for your very detailed comment, I think moderation is the answer.
Hi Alistair. Sorry to hear you’ve had to give up on Magnolia stellata, so far I’ve been lucky, even in harsh winters I still get lots of blooms. This year I have loads of fat buds so I am choosing to remain optimistic!
Re blogging frequency, its difficult, isn’t it! I’ve settled on trying to limit it to a max of three times a week, but sometimes get caught out with extras like Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day or Wordless Wednesday, both of which I love. And I’ve notices that a lot of the blogs I really love only have new posts around once a week, which is challenging. It is making me explore why I blog at all – again! Its the blog following I am struggling with currently. I find it hard to find I am so behind that my comment would be around number 40, but on the other hand know how much I appreciate comments whenever they appear. I will have to curtail the number of blogs I follow somehow, it is taking too much time, but haven’t quite worked out how yet…
Yes Soren, the Magnolia is indeed beautiful.
Diana, thanks for the advice here and also that which you have given me in the past.
I post as often as I can, or have something to say. (And pictures to illustrate it.)
As for the magnolias… When I was a sullen teenager I used to sneak out late at night and go for long solitary walks in the forests and parks near – or not-so-near – to my parents’ house, and my favourite thing was to go for a walk on a moonlight spring night to the WWI memorial park that had lovely small garden spaces, surrounded by hedges and with a line of magnolias down either side of the path in one of those garden spaces. The white flowers in the moonlight? Even Sissinghurst’s wealth of white flowers cannot compete with a single magnolia tree in bloom, I think.
Playing blotanical? I’ll answer you here. Some don’t play at all, just use Blotanical to draw new readers. And others like me get addicted. The more you blog, the more you read blogs, the more you will realise, a mere human cannot comment everywhere. Or if you are made that way, that you have to comment, you will have to Chelsea chop your faves and your reader frequently. I aim to leave a few comments every day. (But only if I have something to say …) BTW Slow and steady also wins the race ;~)
Yes Edith, there does come a time in which to accept defeat.
Dear Alistair, Such a pity that you have given up on Magnolia Stellata. But, I completely understand why as there is almost nothing sadder than a frost bitten Magnolia. All that promise swept away and turned to mush overnight. I agree that, if given some shelter, M.Stellata is worthy of a place in any garden…such an attractive tree.
One, I guess whatever fits your own timetable with ease is the answer.
Hi Alistair, To be honest, I’m not familiar with magnolia but I love white flowers. If I could grow this, I would.
I normally post about 2x a week. I think we should not be too rigid with the schedule. What fun would that be? 🙂
P3, now that is one for my wife to answer.
Once a week sounds good enough to me Carolyn
Alistair, Magnolias are my favorite trees and account for a lot of the shade at Carolyn’s Shade Gardens. Star magnolia grows very well here although sometimes the flowers, which are very early, get hit by frost. As stated in Elephant’s Eye, I prefer to read posts from my favorite blogs once a week. That way I can give each one the time and comment it deserves. But that’s because of my own hectic schedule. I realize that most people don’t agree. Carolyn
I wish we could grow magnolias here in the tropics. My favourite scent is the hand lotion and body cream from magnolia set of Mark & Spenser. But Im not sure whether its the actual scent from the magnolias.
Stellata grows well here and flowers usually on time. As per post frequency, I follow WordPress’s suggestion and a few other top bloggers that I follow. It all depends on time, post subject and timeliness of content for the frequency though and that is individual to each blogger. I like reading fresh posts from my favorites and will happily pop in twice a week if that is your schedule.
alas I have no room for Magnolias in my small yard that came with many trees…I too ponder how many times to post and am at twice a week but when the garden opens it will be once…