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E-mail Robin Contributions (excerpts):

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54-8; Dick Figlar: 19 March 2007:
Four (4) M. delavayi appear to be thriving. All but 1 of these were planted in areas that have cool moist ground in summer with complete shade in winter. There is not a bit of damage on any. Others planted in more open (to the sun) situations had struggled a bit last summer (in the heat) and as a result were also winter killed. This is probably a cause / effect result. Lessen learned - keep delavayi cool and moist as possible in summer. - Magnolia macclurei made it through the winter completely unscathed. It even retained all the thick foliage it put on last season. This is really encouraging that this plant performed so well during a "normal" winter. Magnolia fulva var. calcicola still seems to be too tender, but the plant survived.

55-1:Philippe de Spoelberch: March 22 2007:
The season started with M. biondii and hybrids of these and other than being precocious (20 February this year, as opposed to 5 April in 2006). They are of very little interest. I am surprised by the quality of two plants which I named as a joke some many years ago: ‘Hot Lips’ and ‘Hot Pants’. They go through light frost and bloom superbly early on and are the first spectacular sight in spring over here. A seedling of ‘Hot Pants’ is just as good. Others will be chopped down. Magnolia sprengeri ‘Copeland Court' is one of the very best (hardy, resistant to light frost and wind). It seems much better than ‘Bucklands’ which is soon damaged by the slightest meteorological problem. ‘Lanhydrock’ super, like ‘Copeland Court’.

55-2: Koen Camelbeke: April 4th 2007:
It is becoming more and more obvious that the trade is searching for either small or fastigiate growing Magnolias. Flanders has become too crowded and many owners do not realize how big (wide) a soulangeana can get after some decades. So, habit is becoming an important character for breeders and should be taken into account when registering a new cultivar. I for instance planned to register an unknown cross (denudata x veitchii?) as ‘White Mystery’. Then I suddenly realized: do we need another white flowering Magnolia that will become very big? I don’t think so. I think that sunburn of leaves in winter is not solely due to too intensive sunlight. Wind plays an equally important role as it encourages evaporation of leaves and as the roots are in frozen soil they cannot bring any water to the leaves. They have no other choice than to die.

55-3: Mike Robinson: April 27th 2007:
I was very impressed with the Pickard’s this year - perhaps because of the high temperatures last summer, or the short, dormant season, or both. Garnet was superb, Cornelian excellent, and even Ruby was very good. The stalwarts Sundew and Picture were good as always. Maudiae continues to look chlorotic. Duclouxii is superb in foliage. To my eye, Honey Liz is the clear winner here, a true yellow with flowers beautifully presented. Coral Lake is very good, but not yellow. Limelight is very good with large flowers, and a fine colour. Daphne and Banana Split are not out yet. Maxinne Merrill is supposed to be a hybrid but looks like a form of subcordata here. Goldstar and Elizabeth are, of course, superb garden plants.

55-4: Maurice Foster: 15 May 07:
We had frost in early March after just about the mildest winter on record and it did affect burgeoning flower buds on campbellii, ssp mollicomata and a few on sargentiana robusta even before the outer perules had fallen.- to the extent that some flowers were destroyed and others distorted, spoiling the effect. Ethel Hillier lost all flower buds even though there had been no discernable bud movement. It is also brittle and subject to windbreak and although exquisitely beautiful, will have to go in favour of something less precocious and several degrees tougher. Michelia doltsopa opened quite a lot of flowers of perfect size, but instead of white, they were a clear wrapping paper brown. The later flowers were unaffected, but overall the display was spoiled. - the excellent sprengeri diva forms and hybrids again were unaffected and flowered perfectly. Copeland Court was 2-3 weeks early and a striking colour in the landscape both here and at Wisley; all the other usual sprengeri suspects were brilliant, with Lanhydrock outstanding, though I have to note, even at 20ft, not quite as floriferous as the others. I like Raspberry Swirl, which is making a fine upright tree and many people extolled the quality of Marwood Spring. Of the ‘yellows’ we grow we thought Daphne was the best colour, a clear yellow, and Lois the best shape. Butterflies is useful because much earlier than the rest. Woodsman is not worth its space, nor is Black Beauty (or Black Magic?) but Eva Maria is excellent, still flowering well as I write. Yellow Lantern is a good garden plant, big and upright. We still find Elisabeth indispensable, big and generous with tons of flower. The Kehr hybrid that really took us by surprise with first flowers was Daybreak, a four year old plant with some 6 flowers that shone like beacons in a dark corner. The first flowers were particularly good and we thought it extra bright and effective.

55-5: Lennarth Jonsson: 28 May 07:
I had 3 seedlings of the crossing M. ‘Pegasus’ x liliiflora ‘O’Neill’ in flower. They were all very similar though seedlings. The flowers are of the size and form of the parents. The petals are white at the upper part and liliiflora like at the lower part. However, I consider M. ‘Marillyn’ more colour full and darker in colour. The one I most appreciate is a crossing of M. acuminata ‘Patriot’ x ‘Pink Surprise’ (NB! There are serious doubts about ‘Patriot' really being a polyploid form.). The colour reminds of ‘Woodsman’ but more intensive. ‘Woodsman’ might appear pale compared to many of the early flowering one. But the flowers of the crossing M. acuminata ‘Patriot’ x ‘Pink Surprise’ is a combination of a warm yellow orange (peach colour) at lower part changing to orange-red to red at the upper part. It is a colour new to me and I do not believe I have seen it on any Magnolia species. I have planted many of the yellow cultivars available and some start to flower now. Honestly I must confess that so far I find ‘Yellow Lantern’ to be the best both in colour and form. Dick told us that MSI supports a test growing of yellow cultivars and I welcome it. I believe that too many have been registered and I look forward to the result of the test. Unfortunately, colour changes very much with temperature conditions.

55-6: Mark Haimes: June 2, 2007:
'Forrest's Pink' was gorgeous for nearly a month, then ruined in one night with frost. The blooms always turn brown with frost, as opposed to 'Leonard Messel' that snubs it's nose at the cold. 'Ivory Chalice' has extremely cold sensitive flowers -- probably because of the denudata in it. 'Butterflies' has been in the ground for 12 years and refuses to bloom. Initially, I didn't care for brooklynensis '204' (also called ‘Black Beauty’) since the flower form is lacking distinction. It looks like a partially opened tulip. But the color -- plum -- has grown on me as it sets itself apart. My soil is alkaline. Some plants are more prone to chlorosis than others. 'Ballerina', brooklynensis 'Eva Maria', 'Ivory Chalice', virginiana 'MoonGlow', 'Yellow Lantern', 'Yellow Lantern' x 'Marillyn', S.' Verbanica', 'Marillyn', ' Ballerina' x ' Leonard Messel', and especially, cylindrica x ' Sawada's Pink' are most prone. 'Leonard Messel', 'Orchid', 'Wada's Memory', acuminata x 'Miss Honeybee', ' Forrest's Pink', 'Ann', S. 'Burgundy', and 'Alexandrina', brooklynensis '204', 'Galaxy' x 'Ruby', 'Ruby' x ‘Galaxy', liliiflora 'Nigra', 'Galaxy', and anything with 'Rosemarie' in it, are particularly resistant to becoming chlorotic.