Northernmost Southern Magnolia?
iowapalmz5
18 years ago
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doniki
18 years agoiowapalmz5
18 years agoRelated Discussions
New englanders who are growing Southern Magnolias
Comments (27)This variety grows anywhere from 20-25 feet tall and about 10 feet in width, so a relative dwarf among M. grandiflora varieties but the space is absurdly small. I am not sure you realize how exuberantly a heathy M. grandifora grows if happy. Growth is also frequently, very low branching (as in down to the ground). They are also strongly surface rooting, and I don't see how the roots are going to grow without destroying your pavers. I definitely would transplant ASAP, this is a small one. small ones transplant quite well but larger ones resent being moved as may be damaged or killed in the process. I have had them pop up from cones on my property and have removed the small ones to containers for future planting, so it can definitely be done successfully. I have several cultivars of M. grandiflora; Edith Bogue, Victoria, Majestic Beauty, and Little Gem. Little Gem is probably the most dwarf but still too big for this strip, and it's also the LEAST cold hardy. This is Edith Bogue obscuring a three story home. I planted it from a two feet tree about 15 years ago....See MoreMagnolia, is this a Little Gem or Southern?
Comments (16)Magnolia "Little Gem", like other varieties of southern magnolia is commonly rated as hardy in USDA zones 7-10 (with many reporting success at least through zone 6). Seattle is in USDA zones 8b-9a. So reported winter-kill in the Seattle area may well be due to cool summers or other cultural factors like winter dampness in poorly-drained sites, summer drought or extremely windy locations. Francko, in "Palms Won't Grow Here And Other Myths": "...the USDA hardiness-zone map cannot quantify the myriad other environmental and biological variables that collectively contribute to cold hardiness. Although Macon, Georgia; Seattle, Washington; and London, England have similar mild winter temperatures, rainfall patterns, soils, prevailing winds and, most importantly, summer heat and total yearly solar radiation vary greatly between locations. All of these factors influence a given plant's ability to survive winter cold. A needle palm that is perfecctly capable of surviving a -15F cold snap in zone 6 St. Louis might be killed by 10F temperatures in cool and damp England, where mean summer temperaturess are about 15F lower than in St. Louis."...See MoreBest way to Winter protect potted Southern Magnolia starter plants NJ?
Comments (10)would it have been better to put them in a windowless cold (freezing) garage most of the winter but maybe bring them outside on warmer days maybe two or 3 times a week? How 'bout a warmer attic with no sunlight? I hope I didn't make it worse than just leaving them outside. I had them under a porch for about a week, and then today I dug a pit (there's like 18 total 3 gallon pots of these) and packed them closely in the pit still in the pots and packed straw/leaves between then and a good amount over them and did bury some of the 'trunks' of these 18 innch starters. Will the mulch/straw around the trunks rot them out or help insualte as long as once it gets warmer I remove it? When it rains though now it's like they'll be in a pool that will freeze! Heat does come from the ground and mulch/straw insulates and what insulation does is it stops heat from passing through it, so actually all the straw I packed between each pot is blocking ground heat from reaching the tops of the pots but I'm hoping it'll at least soak up lighter rains/snow and less likely to cause a pool affect on the bottoms. I have them on the east side of the house about 2 feet from the house and they're near a fence corner so not much wind but I still might put a scrap plywood wall around them. I'd really like to just use some scrap 2x4s and plywood and make a sorta shed over them that I can remove the plywood roof on warmer days, to keep it from pooling, is that the best idea or basically same as keeping them in the window-less garage which is easier? I know some people keep banana trees, curry trees etc in their window-less garages all winter and they do fine but not sure if these should get more sunlight, more than just bringing them all out on the driveway once a week or so during warmer hours. please advise thank you. I do know if garage-kept to slowly introduce them to the outside in Spring so they don't get too shocked but the garage does freeze anyway (had a copper plumbing line crack a few years ago)....See MoreHow to make a Southern Magnolia grow dense
Comments (5)I heartily support GG's statement above. One might state such if one were referring to seedling/mature native trees in their wild normal haunts, but it is simply way off the mark when considering non-native and exotic plants in soils and conditions way out of the ordinary/customary for those species. I will defy any gardener to be successful with planting and growing almost any tree on a disturbed soil property - like many urban conditions and most new home lots where most A horizon soil no longer exists - without significant effort to improve soil fertility, texture, compaction, etc. Perform a COMPLETE soil test - not just NPK - and learn about general amendments to recreate quality soil conditions where they are lacking. As noted everywhere, tree roots don't stop growing at driplines, so plan to improve soil qualities and fertility throughout your property. All plants - mature trees or otherwise - need available nutrients and moisture when going through their growth cycles, and especially if they are stressed by any number of environmental factors. Due to maintenance practices, many even undisturbed garden soils lack nitrogen at the normal level. Whether you like "... enriching the fert industry..." or prefer to go about this via more organic methods, your plants won't care if there is available N when they need it. A very simple example: note when female plants of most of the genus Ilex are ripening their fruit. If nitrogen is not able to be adequately taken up from the soil, the plants will reallocate nitrogen from green leaves, resulting in a noticeable yellowing/lighter greening of the foliage. An appropriately timed dose of nitrogen during this period of the Holly lifecycle can ameliorate this condition. I am a long way past my era of landscape management, but there are drips, wraiths, silhouettes, and fleeting memories of the proper terminology and practices in soil health and management. Work is involved, and rapid results are rarely effected. That's why trees should last a lifetime......See Moreiowapalmz5
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