Some plants are so beautiful they stop me in my tracks. Right now, the exquisite tulip magnolia (Magnolia x soulangeana) is showing off its eye-catching qualities all over Sydney. It's impossible to ignore the elegant, sculptural, rosy-purple and white blooms. They have an uplifting effect on late-winter and early-spring gardens.
The Magnolia genus was named after Pierre Magnol, a professor of botany and the director of the botanical garden at Montpellier in France in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
While many hybrid magnolia cultivars are new to the horticultural world, fossil evidence shows magnolia plants existed about 100 million years ago. There are more than 100 species, both evergreen and deciduous, as well as hybrids.
The biggest challenge is deciding which magnolia to grow. There are numerous hybrids, many of which originated in New Zealand. Many of these have large flowers on deciduous trees about five to six metres tall. Magnolias make great feature trees, especially in small gardens.
The hybrids come in a wide range of colours. For shades of yellow, 'Sunburst' and 'Sundance' are hard to beat. If you prefer deeper tones, the hybrid 'Vulcan' has fabulous wine-red flowers, while 'Black Tulip' has dark-purple blooms. Gardeners who like pale hues should check out 'Milky Way', whose white blooms have a soft-pink base.
Some magnolias are evergreen and make excellent screens. Two fairly recent releases are worth considering. 'Kay Parris' has extremely glossy leaves with a deep-orange underside and large, fragrant, creamy-white summer flowers. It reaches a height of about six metres. 'Teddy Bear' grows to about four metres. Its large, white flowers are set among dark-green, rounded leaves.
The evergreen Michelia has been reclassified and now belongs in the Magnolia genus. Michelias are small, attractive trees that make fabulous perfumed hedges and screens.
'Fairy Magnolia' (syn Michelia) is a relatively recent release and has attractive lilac-pink flowers. As it reaches a height of just three to four metres, it can be grown in a large container. 'Fairy Magnolia Cream' will be released this spring. It grows as rapidly as 'Fairy Magnolia' and produces lightly fragrant cream spring flowers.
The port wine magnolia (Magnolia figo syn Michelia figo) forms a dense evergreen shrub and has strongly scented, creamy-purple flowers. 'Coco', an improved cultivar of Magnolia figo, has larger flowers.
Magnolia 'Mixed up Miss' is a hybrid of the port wine magnolia and Magnolia doltsopa. This large shrub has perfumed white flowers with a pink blush on the edge of the petals.
Magnolias are not difficult to grow. They are mainly woodland plants and should be treated as such. Provide them with a well-drained, porous loam, enriched with organic matter and leaf mould. Water regularly, mulch every year with cow manure and fertilise with a sprinkling of blood and bone.