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Star of the show
Star magnolia in full flaunt on a crisp winter day adds a touch of warmth to the landscape.
Photo by L.A. Jackson
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Feed me
A light application of 8-8-8 or 10-10-10 fertilizer when the first shoots emerge will help foster future blooms in perennial bulbs such as crocuses.
Photo by L.A. Jackson
Think of magnolias, and visions of majestic broadleaf evergreens displaying large, white, scented blossoms in the simmer of a sultry southern summer probably come to mind. However, there is a maverick band of magnolias that can’t wait for the winding down of winter to begin blooming. Heck, they can’t even wait for their foliage to form before they start flaunting flowers!
These impatient showoffs are collectively known as deciduous magnolias. Unlike the iconic southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), they drop their leaves in the fall, but visually come bouncing back in late winter to early spring, with their blooms leading the way.
One popular form of these raring-to-go beauties is the saucer magnolia (Magnolia x soulangeana), which has large, early-bird flowers that look similar to those on a southern magnolia. The big blooms can glow in the familiar magnolia white hue, but, depending on the cultivar, they are usually found additionally tinged in pink or light purple. A saucer magnolia will usually stretch up to 20 feet high or more and about as wide.
Want something smaller? Try a selection from the star magnolia (Magnolia stellata) clan, which will typically reach to around 15 feet high and wide. As advertised, lightly colored, strap-like, centrally radiating petals on the flowers give a pleasant, star-like dusting to bare branches yet to be adorned with mid-green leaves. White is the predominant color of the blossoms, but, as with saucer magnolias, selections blushed with light shades of pink or purple can also be found.
Deciduous magnolias should be planted in rich, well-draining soil. Once established, they can stand moderate bouts of drought, but renewing mulch around them yearly makes for happier plants.
While they perform well in full sunlight, if possible, site these magnolias away from a protected setting such as close to the southern side of a house where the low winter sun can create a cozy environment during the coldest of months. The reason for this odd avoidance is that deciduous magnolias in such a comfy microclimate might be encouraged to bloom much sooner than they should, leaving the flowers to suffer possible damage from hard frosts or prolonged freezes, which typically happen in midwinter.
Deciduous magnolias aren’t as common in South Carolina landscapes as southern magnolias, but, at this time of year, they should be easy finds at local nurseries. They will be the bare-branched, small tree wannabes with swelling buds eager to pop out and help chase the winter blues away!
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February in the Garden
• If you have swaths of mondo grass or liriope gracing your landscape, before new growth begins, tidy them up by clipping the old foliage back to about 3 to 4 inches above ground with either a lawn mower or string trimmer.
• Bring spring indoors by cutting 12- to 18-inch dormant branches of early blossoming beauties such as flowering quince, flowering cherry, redbud, forsythia and spirea, and placing them in vases of water. The bloom buds will begin to stir in a warm, bright environment inside and burst open long before spring arrives outside. For a better display, change their water at least once a week.
• Bushes or small trees that were root pruned last fall can be moved to their new locations this month.
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Tip of the Month
Just as fancy spring-blooming perennial bulbs such as hyacinths, crocuses, daffodils and species tulips begin pushing their shoots out of the ground this month, give them a light application of a complete fertilizer such as 8-8-8 or 10-10-10. The oomph to create this spring's fabulous flower show has already been stored in the bulbs, but adding this extra shot of nutrients stimulates stronger foliage formation, which then absorbs more energy from the sun and transfers it down to the bulbs to be saved for next year’s blossom-fest.
L.A. Jackson is the former editor of Carolina Gardener magazine. Contact him at lajackson1@gmail.com.