Look what's blooming at our house today.

The beautiful Saucer or Tulip Magnolia, Magnolia soulungiana.

Part of the tree.

The open blossom.

That is a beautiful tree!

I cannot believe yours are blooming already. simply beautiful. Mine just have teenie/tiny buds, it will be at least two weeks before I see any magnolia action.

That is very pretty!

Thank you, everyone. We are very lucky to have good weather through the blooming period, many times they have frozen before they opened all the way. I love those blossoms.

Oh, it's just beautiful! Now I know why my group of friends have been watching and waiting for theirs to open. Does it have a fragrance?

Aren't they beautiful??..I saw some in bloom around town when I was out shopping yesterday and of course the nurserys are full of them..I miss mine that I left at my old home in Louisiana....Jeanne

Peach trees against a beautiful blue Texas sky blooming here.

Paige, they have a very faint fragrance, almost non existant, but they make up for it in beauty. It is so nice that they bloom very early to give us a preview of all the good things to come.
Josephine.

Dmj1218, I think your name is Debbie, but I am not sure. Am i right?
That picture of the peach blossom, against the deep blue sky is beautiful.
I love the Texas sky.
Josephine.

How gorgeous!

Yes Josephine its Debbie...must be "pink" blooming week in Texas. My redbuds are starting to just nudge out; next week might be lilac week. lol

Have to enjoy these clear skys while its windy and blows the smog away!

Josephine, have you tried propagating the magnolia? I have a neighbor that has told me I can take cuttings, but I don't want to until I know I have a chance of sucess. Should I try it?

There is no harm in trying, you never know, it might work just fine.
I have never tried the magnolia, but I suppose you would use the same method as for any hard wood cuttings.
I do need to trim mine after they are finished blooming, I have two, so if you want to come by and take some, you are welcome.
Josephine.

This message was edited Feb 6, 2006 9:15 AM

Beautiful flower, Josephine. No trees blooming around here yet.Lots of other flowers blooming though.
trois

Thank you Trois, I am looking forward to the Pride of Barbados this year. I hope the seedlings come back and bloom for me, that would be great.
Thank you for those deeds.
Josephine.

Tips for Rooting Magnolia soulungiana:

Cutting type: stem tip (preferably 6 inch cuttings) having 2 or t3nodes and a lateral slit at the base; tip cuttings root best especially those that have formed flower buds

Cutting maturity: softwood

Time of year to take cuttings: summer, first half of July is the best time

Ideal medium for the rooting: 2:1 mixture of peat and sand, OR 1:1 mixture of peat and perlite, OR 1:1 mixture of compost and perlite

Use rooting hormone

Ideal medium for the rooted cuttings: 2:1 mixture of peat and compost soil

Ideal soil temperature for best rooting : 75-78 degrees F

Mist leaves daily (or cover container with large plastic bag secured with rubberband)

Time to root: 4-8 weeks (gently tug ... if there is resistant, the cutting has started to root; wait another 2 weeks or so, dig one up and check out the roots to see if it is ready to pot)

Time to plant: grow over the summer and feed with foliar fertilizer, then plant in fall or spring

Is that the tree that Trois has that looks almost just like the Bird of Paradise? I remember a thread about this last year.

That is right Paige, here is the link to the plant files, it sure is beautiful.

http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/2247/index.html

Hazel, thank you, thank you, you are so nice. That was a wonderful lesson.
You are so patient to write all those instructions, now we can all try it, and hope we get lucky.
It is good to know the best time of the year to do it also.
Thanks again, you are a sweetheart.
Josephine.

Thanks for the encouragement Josephine.
I appreciate the directions too Hazel! But I guess I need to get started....