Magnolia Grandiflora

Anyone else growing Magnolia Grandiflora in the Chicago area? I live near St. Charles Illinois and have had good success with Brackens Brown Beauty. Bloomed very heavily this spring. I am also growing Nellie Stevens Holly, has had no winter damage over last three years and an aucuba japonica ,wintered last year with no damage. I wrapped a string of christmas lights around it and left it on during any real cold snaps during winter.

Wow, that's pretty far north for that tree. Good for you. My MIL bought one when she was down south visiting her brother and brought it to me as a gift. She thought the white blooms were beautiful and wanted me to have it. I planted it in the most sheltered area I could locate and it didn't make it. Wish I would have thought of Christmas tree lights. Interesting. I did mulch it well and wrapped it in burlap. Still no go.

I couldn't help but notice your user name. Please tell me you are growing that tree and having success? I have been trying and trying and trying to germinate that from seed. I realize it is a double dormancy seed but it is still frustrating. The squirrels, God Bless their silly little souls, plucked out my first batch. I tried again last year and did protect them by leaving them in a screened in porch but then my little porch potatoes got out there and knocked over my containers so many times I don't think the Holly seeds know which way is up anymore. Have you ever tried to start any from seed or from clippings? I would be most interested in knowing if you have had any luck.

Oh my gosh, yes I am in Illinois and I am close to you. Just an hour or so north.

Equilibrium, Sorry your magnolia grandiflora didn't make it. Southern magnolia trees vary greatly in the hardiness of the individual variety. In zone 5, only a couple have a chance at surviving the winter. The variety 'Brackens Brown Beauty' has done the best for me. It is now rated as possibly the hardiest variety, Edith Bogue also does well. They don't come true from seed so you need to get only cutting grown plants. Brackens Brown Beauty is widely available through mail order sources. The larger the tree you can get, the better the chance of survival. I have had no difficulty growing american holly here. I put it on the east side of the house out of the wind and it does great. I have 2 that are about 7'tall now. Old Heavy Berry, Jersey Prince and Cardinal are good varieties to start with. Haven't grown any from seed but generally are available as small plants from several mail order sources. Keeping broadleaf evergreens in our climate depends on proper fertilizing( never past July 15th), siteing out of winter sun, either east or North(best) and make sure to water well before ground freezes. The healthier the plant, the better the success.

Hi Ilexopaca, thanks so much for your information. I'm going to try them again. I wasn't going to but you mentioned different cultivars that I never tried and most of the ones I attempted to grow here were coming out of southern states such as MO which is really a big no no. I'm game. I'm definitely going to do this even if it is from a cutting. Just out of curiosity, what would your thoughts be about watering good before first freeze and additionally using a product such as WiltPruf for the the first few years until the tree is established? If you have a spare moment, I'd be interested in your opinion on that. Thanks much!

Equilibrium, Yes ,definately water well before first frost. I usually water weekly until at least Thanksgiving time. I 'm not sold on products such as WiltPruf. From the times I have tried it, it seemed I had worse winter damage on plants I sprayed with antidessicants than untreated. I think they can smother the plants under certain conditions. I think the best thing is to put up a burlap screen around the plants to protect from any winter sun and drying winds. The plants do better if they go and stay dormant with a more consistent temperature. Large temperature fluctuations are more damaging than consistent freezing temperatures( up to a point.) this is when I use artificial heat such as a heat bulb for a few nights when temperatures get really low. A tree is considered established after 3 years so damage gets less each year in the ground. Magnolias I have that have been in the ground as long as 5 years now get almost no winter burn on them . I no longer do anything to them except water well in fall and mulch well. There is an excellent book on growing plants out of their normal range callled :Palms Won't Grow Here and other myths by David A. Francko that explains the relationship between plants and cold. It isn't just cold that limits a plants range so by knowing how to manipulate certain things, you can have great success with plants out of their normal growing range. I'm trying Ackerman camellias this year . Good luck!

Equilibrium, also , you should only plant maginally hardy plants here in the spring so they have all summer to establish before winter.

Oops... too late! I ordered a bareroot and I should have already received it today but maybe tomorrow. I have a large planter, probably about 25 gallons. Rather than putting it in the ground, should I heel it into the planter and leave it in the garage until spring? The temps in the garage are never allowed to dip below 35F. It could be -20F outside and the heater in the garage will keep it above freezing. I did place an order for burlap so I should have enough of that in about 5 days. I think I bought a 100' by 8' roll but it might be 100x10, I actually forgot what I ordered. Anyway, I have a slip in my mailbox to contact UPS so I am relatively sure that roll is in and just needs to be picked up.

I don't know what to think about the anti desiccants. I tried an experiment last year in which I placed burlap around half of my rhododendrons and azaleas and used WiltPruf on the other half. Both faired equally well. This year I do plan on watering well and adding an extra layer of leaves but I think I am going to forgo both the burlap and the WiltPruf on those plants. They say if they make it 3 years they are established. We'll see.

I tried a deciduous azalea this year. I went for the University of Minnesota's recently developed cultivar "Northern Lights". I bought 6 bareroots that I planted last spring. I'm curious to see how those fare without any protection. Have you any experience with these?

The "Lights" series of deciduous azaleas released by the U of M are plant and bud hardy from -35°F to -40°F, depending on the cultivar. There is NO reason to protect the plants at all. The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum has many, many large plants of the Lights series of azaleas that have seen temps. of at least -35°F without any die-back or loss of spring flowering.

If you want a really beautiful flower, locate the newly released 'Tri-Lights' azalea.

Here is a link to a picture of the flowers:

http://www.songsparrow.com/images-plants/highres/3AZATRL.jpg

This plant should be easy to locate next spring ('05).

I would hold your Magnolia grandiflora in a location that stays below freezing, if you can. On a warm day your garage will probably become much warmer than the 35°F the thermostat is set at and you don't want the plant to start pushing growth while it is in the dark garage. Just keeping the plant out of the wind will do a lot to help the plant survive the winter (even if the temperature is -20°).
Good luck,
Mike


This message was edited Oct 7, 2004 5:43 PM

Hi Mike, that was sort of why I chose the U of M cultivar. I was hoping it would perform well and come back with no protection. I'm glad you like them and I'm glad you've had experience with them. That pretty much confirms that I'll buy more next year. Thanks for commenting.

I'll try those TriLights you mention. They look as if they are prolific bloomers.

I have no idea where to stash that Magnolia now. The garage has heat coils and auxiliary heaters that automatically go on if the temps dip below a certain temperature. We keep pop out in the garage and other things that we don't want freezing. Not to mention it is easier to start our cars. I do have a back storage garage and maybe I can squish it in there. Other than that, all that's left is a horse barn and that's asking for it to get destroyed.

I think I would use the storage garage.

I got really adventurous (stupid?) and I ordered Magnolia grandiflora '24 Below' for delivery next April. I have a feeling that I will need to plant this magnolia right up against the East side of the house if it is to have any chance of survival.

It sure would be cool if I could get this magnolia to bloom.

Wish me luck!
Mike

Hi Mike, I wish you luck.

Why don't you try stringing Christmas lights on your new tree like ilexopaca does? It sounded unorthodox but I have a strange premonition a person with the name ilexopaca might know what they are talking about. I am going to go and buy Christmas tree lights for both my Magnolia and the American Holly. My order of burlap came in and I am wrapping them. I thought about the back storage garage and then we got 70 F weather so in the ground they both went. I am not going to wrap them until the eleventh hour though. I will water them well but that's about it.

Say Mike, I want to get stupid (adventuresome) with you. What was your source for your "24 Below" Magnolia grandiflora? Is that a white bloomer? Please let me know and I will order one for next April also. We can compare notes.

E,
Beaver Creek Nursery in Knoxville, TN had '24 Below' (I think I got the last one for this year). I would guess that more will be available next spring. I had to purchase a few plants to meet their minimum total to ship.
Mike

Hi Mike, You got the last one (sad eyes and lower lip quivering).
I'll check with them just to make sure. If they have no more, there's always next year. Thanks for letting me know your source. Lauren

As a member of the Magnolia Society, I have tried all of the "supposedly hardy" southern magnolias. I have tried 24 below on 2 occasions( I always give them a second chance) and have had no luck with this variety. It came from a LARGE, MATURE TREE , in Knoxville Ten. that survived a record 24 below temperature. There is a HUGE difference in a large ,ESTABLISHED tree surviving those temperatures and a young plant. I have had one gallon Brackens Brown Beauty survive repeatedly in my zone 5 climate with minimal damage. The leaves may burn the first couple of years, but the important thing is you have no damage to stems and buds. After becoming established, leaf burning should get less every year as it gets rooted down. I have a large interest in seeing southern magnolia survive in zone 5 as this is a goal of some of us in the magnolia society. I still think this is the best variety to try for our conditions, although I have had pretty good success with 'Edith Bogue', although it takes longer to bloom. Brackens Brown Beauty blooms at a very young age and small size. It is becoming very easy to find in catalogs-Carrol Gardens,Roslyn Nursery,Fairweather Gardens all sell it mailorder. There is even a lady who has her own internet site (hardy-southern-magnolias.com ). I have ordered from her and I can vouche she does a great job shipping and packing ,plants have always come in perfect shape. Please give it a try if yours don't make it this fall. I also sometimes throw good sense to the wind and plant when I should wait till spring, but results are much more certain to plant Southern Magnolia in the spring in our climate. I have kept Southern Magnolia in the house over winter in normal conditions in a bright window and it has done great and then planted out in the spring after last frost is done( plant won.t be acclimated to cold if it spent winter indoors. Good luck.

ILEX OPACA

Hi ILEX OPACA, From whom are you getting your American hollies? That's the tree I really want to get established over here. The berries are a substantial benefit to wildlife.

I GET AMERICAN HOLLY PLANTS FROM: BEAVER CREEK NURSERY,
HOLLY RIDGE NURSERY,ROSLYN NURSERY,FAIRWEATHER GARDENS

Thank you!

As far as I know the 'Brackens Brown Beauty' is the most cold hardy of all the Magnolia Grandiflora (Southern Magnolia). If anyone is interested I do have seed that is cleaned :) for trade. I do live right on the edge of 6a and 6b zone so I would like that they would be able to stand a better chance then some others.

Hi ya'll. I bought my place last year and it came with a gigantic magnolia tree. I believe it is the basic Southern Magnolia as listed in the database, and I suspect it is over 50 years old (as is the house) and it is more than 50 feet tall - a glorious tree. It has dropped a lot of seed pods which I gathered and I now have a small stash of the red seeds.

In the database it says these seeds need a "three month stratification to germinate in spring."
Can you expand on that? I would really appreciate a step by step approach to growing new magnolia trees with these seeds.

Thanks for your help,
Cindy Lou

Take your seed and place them in a bowl on your counter top that is filled with luke warm water. Leave it there until tomorrow morning and then replace the water with fresh luke warm water. Do this for 3 days. On the 4th day, take a few sheets of paper towel. Wet them and then wring them out so they are damp. You want them to be damp not wet. Take a zip lick baggie and write "Southern Magnolia" on the outside of the bag. Wrap the seeds in the paper towel, stuff them in the ziplock, and place them in the bottom crisper of your frig until next March 15th. Check on them periodically to make sure they have not dried out. On March 15th, take your seeds out of the frig and plant them in a Solo cup that has a few little drain holes drilled in the bottom of it. Cover your seeds with no more than a 1/4" of planting medium. Place your Solo cups out on your patio in sun. They should begin germinating as soon as the air temps start warming up. Best wishes to you Cindy Lou.

Hey Equilibrium - that sounds way too easy! Thanks so much for the step by step guidelines - that is exactly what I needed.

You are welcome.

I planted a magnolia tree last April, my husband said it wouldn't make it because you are suppose to plant trees in a month that doesn't have a 'r' in it. Is this true or is it an ole wifes tale?

It started getting new leaves, then the grasshoppers got really bad, and ate a lot of the leaves. It is still green so I suppose it is still alive. I plan on putting a wind break up around it and hay around the base of it before the harsh winter really sets in. The tag on mine says it is a SweetBay Magnolia.

I need to know the best time of year, month to plant one, because I would like to get another one.

Here is another picture of my little tree. ILEXOPACA do you think my little tree has a chance?