This feature will appear in the blog throughout the year. Many plants have fallen out of favor over the years, but for the sake of bio-diversity and landscape interest they deserve to be resurrected. Today's featured plant is:
Magnolia grandiflora, commonly called southern magnolia.
This tree was previously not considered hardy in zones lower than 6b. But through hybridization some years ago there is now a variety that is reliably hardy to zone 5b, which carries all the traits of the species and is certainly a worthwhile consideration for northern climates with some protection from winter winds. This hardy cultivar is called Bracken’s Brown Beauty.
This is a broadleaf evergreen that is noted for its attractive dark green leaves and its large, extremely fragrant flowers. It typically grows 60 to 80 feet tall, with a pyramidal to rounded crown. This is a magnificent tree of the south. It is native to moist, wooded areas in the southeastern United States from North Carolina to Florida and Texas. Leathery evergreen ovate to elliptic leaves, up to ten inches long, are glossy dark green above and variable pale green to gray-brown beneath. Fragrant white flowers, six to eight inches in diameter, usually have six petals. Flowers bloom in late spring, with sparse continued flowering throughout summer.
Flowers give way to spherical cone-like fruiting clusters in the fall. Best grown in moist, organically rich, well drained loam, the tree prefers full sun to part shade, part shade being best. While it is intolerant of many urban pollutants, this tree has no serious insect or disease problems.