E-mail Robin Contributions (excerpts):
Back to Home
Mark Haimes: Dec. 2007: Magnolia grandiflora in Colorado
Magnolia grandiflora "24 Below"
blooming in Boulder, Colorado
M. grandiflora 'Pixie' is an unregistered hybrid of 'Little Gem' x 'Victoria'. 'Pixie' is very dense, symmetrical, with very small, dark green leaves with prominent brown indumentum. It has 7-inch flowers. I have seed from 'Pixie' pollinated by 'Jubilee' and by 'Hasse'. So I'm quite excited about all of this. This could lead to some beautiful, hardy grandifloras. Of note is that a cross using 'Pixie' as seed parent and 'Harold Poole' as pollen parent failed, also using 'Kay Parris' pollen on 'Pixie'. Additionally, no viable seed was obtained using M. grandiflora '24 Below' as seed parent, and either 'Kay Parris' or 'Pixie' as pollen parent. I also have planted out this year: 'Kay Parris', 'Treyvei', 'Phil Savage', another unnamed hybrid, and the following unregistered grandifloras:
'77 Hardy' -- the leaves are medium green, have no significant indumentum, and are 9 x 3 inches.
'Elite' (which is 'Little Gem' x 'Teddy Bear' ('Teddy Bear' is also known as 'Southern Charm') -- the leaves are medium green, very wavy,
have heavy brown indumentum, are heavy in texture, and 8 x 3 inches
'Pixie' ('Little Gem' x 'Victoria') -- the leaves are a very glossy dark green, have heavy brown indumentum, are mildly wavy, and are 5 x 2.5 inches. The tree is very dense and pyramidal
'Forever Ivory' -- the leaves are dark green, have no significant indumentum, and are 6 x 2.5 inches
'DeCorday' -- the leaves are a very dark green, thick in texture, have heavy brown indumentum, and are 7 x 3 1/2 inches. The branches are heavy and very upright. As one person said: "This tree makes a real statement".
One thing that is also becoming more apparent to me in terms of winter hardiness is the structure of the tree. Attributes that are also desirable in cold weather areas include Magnolia grandiflora that have more upright branches, thicker branches, smaller leaves, and either very upright or down pointing leaves. Not only does a Magnolia grandiflora need to be hardy enough in terms of cold exposure, but it must also be able to withstand heavy snows in terms of both limb and leaf breakage. For example, even though Magnolia grandiflora '24 Below' is quite cold hardy, it has a very horizontal branch structure. Of course, to some extent, this can be modified by pruning. However, this does affect the natural form of the plant.
I guess I'm not yet certain whether thicker branches is truly an attribute or not. Generally one would suspect that thicker branches would break less easily, however, under a heavy snow load, the thinner, more pliable branches may accommodate and "go with the flow" and bend down towards the ground, and not break. Smaller leaves, and leaves that point either upright or down as opposed to being horizontal are clearly beneficial in terms of holding less snow. However, we also get very strong winds here, up to 120 miles an hour 3 times since I have lived here. In this situation, a horizontal leaf would probably fare better than one either upright or pointing down. Of course the thickness of the attachment of the leaf to the stem would enter into the equation whether one is discussing snow or wind resistance. In all cases, Magnolia grandiflora with smaller leaves would certainly be desirable.
Certainly the term cold hardiness is too general a term, and multiple other factors need to be considered in terms of having a worthwhile garden plant. For example, when one is considering deciduous magnolias, it is not only the wood cold hardiness that is important, but also the bud cold hardiness, and the hardiness of the flower once open to a frost -- unless of course one is only interested in a foliage plant. All of these numerous factors must be considered in terms of hybridization. There are already too many named hybrids that are not worthy of being named and registered. Additionally, if the general gardening public plants one of these less desirable magnolias (e.g. -- many of the more common soulangeanas in the gardening trade) that do not withstand climatic conditions, this will do nothing but to reinforce the idea that "magnolias won't grow here". So we, as hybridizers that may be introducing plants into the trade, also have a responsibility in terms of appropriate selection, which goes beyond the beauty and number of flowers.
One of the larger local nurseries carries magnolias. On more than one occasion, if I would call and ask what varieties of magnolias they were carrying this year, a common response would be: "Whatever they send on the truck". Most of the nurseries that sell to the general public (not specialized nurseries) have no real knowledge of what they are selling. It has been my experience that at least half of what they sell is not appropriate for this locale. Again, this then perpetuates the bad reputation that magnolias get in terms of hardiness. Maybe the MSI should somehow educate general nurseries of what is appropriate or not to sell in a given climate.
Dennis Ledvina: Hybridizing with M. acuminata
| After a spectacular show last year, the magnolias took somewhat of a rest this spring. The flower bud set was not as abundant last summer and then a cold week in February did damage some flower buds. For a week the temperatures dropped to -15 to -20F at night and only rebounded to near 0F during the day. All the M. acuminata hybrids bloomed but there was flower bud damage on Alexandrina, Ruby, Big Dude, Spectrum, and Galaxy. Even Phil’s Masterpiece (M. acuminata x M. campbellii) bloomed normally. The past winter just reinforced my belief that hybridizing with M. acuminata is essential for developing hardy, later flowering magnolias for cold climates. Even in the Southeast where magnolia bloom too early and then are damaged by later freezes using M. acuminata would delay the early spring bloom. Patriot - I am not convinced that this is an octoploid Coral Reef and Pink Royalty which are crosses of M. acuminata and Phil’s Dark Diva Mystery pictured (top left). Rose Marie (bottom left) which is a very fertile cross of Pink Surprise x Daybreak Can you visualize what a cross of Rose Marie x M. campbellii subsp mollicomata 'Werrington' (top right) might look like? I also used some of the M. campbellii pollen on Emma Cook, Pegasus, and String of Pearls. Seed of the M 'Rose Marie' X M. campbellii 'Werrington' cross was sent to the 2008 Seed Exchange. Last fall I had a M. sieboldii x M. grandiflora ‘Russet’ open and it was gorgeous (bottom right) |  |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Other magnolias that recently bloomed for the first time that were either registered or need future evaluation are: | ||
 |
 |
 |
| Crescendo (left) A seedling of Yellow Lantern that is possibly a hybrid with Big Dude. Sweet Love (center) – a hybrid of (M. sieboldii x (M. officinalis x M. obovata)) which roots readily from softwood cuttings. Pink Surprise x Daybreak (right) is a sister seedling of Rose Marie which probably will not be registered because of it’s similarity to Rose Marie. | ||
| Sunset Swirl (left) is a cross of Pink Royalty x Daybreak. I was somewhat reluctant to register it because the color is similar to Daybreak but it has the advantage not being floppy like Daybreak. Yellow Lantern x Butterflies (right) Pink Heaven - (not shown) an unregistered cross of ((M. acuminata x Galaxy) X Daybreak)) which has flowers similar to Daybreak but much greater fertility. |
 |
 |
Dick Figlar: Grafting on M. acuminata.
Having grafted so many things on M. acuminata I have to say that Joe McD was probably using more wishful thinking than science when he made that statement about adding 1 zone of hardiness to the grafted plant when put on acuminata. All I can say is that its the top of the plant – the leaves – which has everything to do with its metabolism. Everything under the ground is more less of equal tenderness (roots of magnolias will begin to kill out at soil temperatures in the low to mid 20s F). That is why they don't overwinter well in containers above ground. I think Joe may have produced what appeared to be healthier plants whenever he topworked in-situ M. acuminata with exotic spp. Since the in-situ acuminata has a completely established root sytem in place, the scion grows out very vigorously. And healthy vigorous plants will often overwinter better than struggling transplants. Hence, Joe's observation of 1 extra zone. I see this here at MGA when I topwork wild seedlings of M. acuminata which pop up everywhere. It is the best way for me to propagate!
Philippe de Spoelberch: Magnolia (wilsonii x officinalis var. biloba)
 |
 |
We have flowered our cross of Magnolia (wilsonii x officinalis var. biloba) – 05027. Unfortunately this is nothing much. Three plants out of the lot have upright growth (not shrubby as the seed parent wilsonii),
with flowers somewhat like a M. x wieseneri. The influence of M. officinalis the pollen parent is obvious, in the
upright growth, not the leaves, unfortunately. The underside of the leaves of one seedling (illustr.) is very hairy.
The flowers are upright and a poor copy of var. biloba. They do not have much scent whereas wieseneri has kept all of the scent of its obovata parent. I must say that I was hoping to find a pendant flower on a huge magnolia officinalis var biloba, or a shrubby wilsonii with bilobed leaves. On both seedlings the flowers were terminal. |
|
 |
 |
We also flowered a curious plant (left) purchased under the name of Magnolia (sieboldii x macrophylla subsp. ashei) – 02411-rut I must admit that I have always felt that there was not much macrophylla in this plant. And the flower and leaves do not show much influence of this parent, more an obovata or tripetala of some kind. Unfortunately, Wim Rutten is not there anymore to tell from where he got this. Does anyone grow this cross? Several specimen of wild collected Magnolia wilsonii (right) from Northern Cangshan Yunnan, flowered this year. These are dainty plants which are not like wilsonii of horticulture, with thin, elongated glabrous leaves. The peduncle is hairy but only slightly elongated. The shoot is dark brown as should be for wilsonii. Thank you to Eike Jablonsky for introducing this form. I am not sure that they will be very hardy in Belgium and may go at the first bad winter. A second thought, this looks much like the beautiful (not very hardy) cultivar M. sinensis ‘Ursula Grau’. | |
Koen Camelbeke: Magnolias - Colour in the Garden
These pictures can indeed give an idea of how well a certain flower or colour stands out in the garden. I agree that ‘Honey Liz’ stands out. Very big, deep yellow flowers. But floppy. I do not really mind them being floppy, but many people equal floppy with untidy or even ugly. Did you try ‘Green Bee’? The also floppy flowers are smaller, but can even be more intense yellow than those of ‘Honey Liz’. Quite a sight! I once had an in-depth discussion on ‘Maxine Merrill’ with a.o. Charles Tubesing from the Holden Arboretum who has an original Phil Savage plant. The flower does favour subcordata but is paler yellow and the flowers open before the foliage. ‘Maxine Merrill’ has from loebneri the kobus genes for tepal number. So, I felt the same way as you when I first saw ‘Maxine Merrill’ flowering, but later became convinced that ‘Merrill’ is one of the parents. ‘Merrill’ is not a typical loebneri, it sometimes has few tepals and quite large. I agree that ‘Daphne’ is one of the best for flower colour, but was surprised by your statement that ‘Woodsman’ is not worth its space! I know that one should not discuss colours and tastes, but I have always liked ‘Woodsman’. Some years I prefer ‘Woodsman’ over ‘Eva Maria’ and other years vice versa; both are close to my heart. Anyway, our yellow flowering Magnolia’s were quite pale this year. Especially those that are already pale to start with (the first generation crosses). April was extremely dry and hot and I think that the high intensity of the sunlight (UV?) and maybe also drought (?) played a role. Two years or so ago I was struck by an orangey flowering brooklynensis Magnolia at the RHS Garden in Wisley (UK) which was labelled ‘Lois’. I knew it was not ‘Lois’ but had no idea what this great plant’s name might be. Jim Gardiner has now been able to retrace its steps and the correct name for this cultivar is ‘Judy Zuk’. One I would like to recommend. |
 |
Mike Robinson: Magnolia (Manglietia) insignis
Manglietia insignis is an upright shapely summer flowering tree. The flowers have a different and very pleasant scent.
It certainly seems that the cultivars with kobus or stellata, and perhaps salicifolia (all the Japanese species) have more frost resistant blooms than the others spring flowers. I wonder if the species from E China will be as resistant – My amoena is a hybrid, I think, so is no true test.
I do agree that Merrill is not a typical loebneri. Maxine Merrill has still to show any real quality here, but I do believe it is a hybrid.
These pictures can indeed give an idea of how well a certain flower or colour stands out in the garden. I agree that ‘Honey Liz’ stands out. Very big, deep yellow flowers. But floppy. I do not really mind them being floppy, but many people equal floppy with untidy or even ugly. Did you try ‘Green Bee’? The also floppy flowers are smaller, but can even be more intense yellow than those of ‘Honey Liz’. Quite a sight!
I once had an in-depth discussion on ‘Maxine Merrill’ with a.o. Charles Tubesing from the Holden Arboretum who has an original Phil Savage plant. The flower does favour subcordata but is paler yellow and the flowers open before the foliage. ‘Maxine Merrill’ has from loebneri the kobus genes for tepal number. So, I felt the same way as you when I first saw ‘Maxine Merrill’ flowering, but later became convinced that ‘Merrill’ is one of the parents. ‘Merrill’ is not a typical loebneri, it sometimes has few tepals and quite large.
I agree that ‘Daphne’ is one of the best for flower colour, but was surprised by your statement that ‘Woodsman’ is not worth its space! I know that one should not discuss colours and tastes, but I have always liked ‘Woodsman’. Some years I prefer ‘Woodsman’ over ‘Eva Maria’ and other years vice versa; both are close to my heart.
Anyway, our yellow flowering Magnolia’s were quite pale this year. Especially those that are already pale to start with (the first generation crosses). April was extremely dry and hot and I think that the high intensity of the sunlight (UV?) and maybe also drought (?) played a role.
Maurice Foster: M. campbellii and mollicomata in SE Asia
From memory our Butterflies, grafted onto kobus took 9 years to flower and frankly the flower quality was scarcely worth waiting for. Slow flowering does seem a characteristic of the cultivar. But it is genuinely precocious and always the first to flower. I agree about Black Beauty - lacking distinction is a most polite way of putting it - but if you plant it below sightline level you can see the custard yellow interior and the contrast means you may give it another year.Lennarth Jonsson: A visit to Phil Savage's former garden.
Concerning Augie’s presumed crossing M. sieboldii x macrophylla (var. ashei) I got from Eisenhut’s Baumschule (who had got it from August Kehr). Augie was very disappointed with this crossing (called R-20) and regretted that he did not discard it. But I found it most interesting and appreciated it to be “a big M. sieboldii”. I told Wim about it and sent him some scion woods. So that is the story behind the plant in Wim’s collection. I have asked Pat McCracken about his opinion whether it is a true M. sieboldii x macrophylla crossing. Pat is convinced that it is and he also considers R-20 to be named and registered but Augie was not very excited on the idea.
Dennis (Ledvina) took me to the late Philip Savage’s garden in Bloomfield Hills. Tim Savage met us. He is full of shrewd humour (we had to be alert that he did not poke fun at two magnolia nuts) and encouraged us – or rather Dennis – to save material of Phil’s breeding. The heirs are going to sell the garden and in next year the bulldozers heard from a neighbouring garden will level the garden for constructing a home for retired people. I just wonder why not care for the great magnolias as that would be o great pleasure to the guests?
Anyway, I recall my visit 20 years ago. The garden was planted with young trees and behind the house rows of Magnolia seedlings of Phil’s breeding were planted. Today they were all big trees and, unfortunately, in the last years Phil had not the power struggling with thinning out and selecting as before. So now many of these seedlings are pushing on each other and only those in the outer rows had developed, others had or were succumbing. But still outstanding clones are found and – above all – thanks to Dennis they will be saved for the Magnolia world.
Anyway, due to this fact I have argued for wider testing of M. dealbata in Europe as it seems to be better adapted to the cooler European summers than M.macrophylla demanding the hot summers of southeast USA