Magnolia Diary number 5, 19 August 2009

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Magnolia Felix Jury

Magnolia Felix Jury

When Magnolia Felix Jury first flowered, it was pretty clear that Mark had taken the step that his father, Felix, had been aiming for with his earlier breeding of Iolanthe and Vulcan. Here was the big campbellii type flower on a young plant with strong colour. Mark named it for his father, even though it may be seen as a slightly unexpected memorial for a man who was a quiet and modest person and of slight stature. The magnolia is none of these. It is large flowered, robust and simply spectacular.

What was even more gratifying for us on our recent trip to the United Kingdom was to see how very well Magnolia Felix Jury is performing there. We walked into the Garden House in Devon and there in pride of place at the entranceway was a fine specimen. It was in leaf but Mark still recognised it instantly. The head gardener confirmed that it is in such a prime position because it performs so spectacularly well and we found that in a number of other gardens around the country. To say that Mark was quietly chuffed is a bit of an understatement. There is no certainty that plants which perform well in New Zealand will be equally good overseas.

Magnolia Felix has been described as a giant pink cabbage on a stick

Magnolia Felix has been described as a giant pink cabbage on a stick

It is difficult to get full tree shots of magnolias, and especially for the original Felix which is planted in a grove of seedlings, but this plant in our park is about 12 years from cutting.

Felix Jury in our park

Felix Jury in our park

Black Tulip is also in full flower and it seems that this will be a good season all round here for deep colour. There are various theories internationally as to what affects the depth of colour but most seem to be anecdotal rather than scientific. We just feel that some years here we get better colour than other years. New Zealanders tend to take the red magnolias for granted and don’t really understand that the deep colours are unusual internationally.

Magnolia Black Tulip in full flower

Magnolia Black Tulip in full flower

Magnolia Diary number 4, 16 August, 2009

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Magnolia Lanarth - now past its best

Magnolia Lanarth - now past its best

One night of rain and Magnolia Lanarth is in decline for the season. Passing over. We don’t mind that Lanarth looks a picture of perfection for such a short time but we can understand that it is a problem for people who live on small sections and who prefer prolonged flowering.

sprengeri diva - great from a distance

sprengeri diva - great from a distance

Campbellii has peaked too but in front of our campbellii tree, Sweetheart (a Caerhays Belle seedling raised from a Ron Gordon plant and named by Peter Cave) is just opening and is very much pretty in pink. Sargentiana robusta and various stellatas are also opening. Sprengeri diva is in full flower and looks great from afar, but floppy and a tad scruffy when viewed close up. We need more substance in blooms in our conditions with wind and heavy rain.

Michelia doltsopa is flowering around the district. The form in our park was named and released by Peter Cave as Rusty but we have never sold it. Quite simply, we think it is too large. Sure, our plant is only around 10 metres tall – but it is a good 20 metres wide. By my maths, that means that Rusty takes up around 300 square metres of land area. That is a large plant growing from a central trunk and not suckering.

We intercepted the neighbours out sniffing on a morning amble yesterday (and diverted them to coffee). All Mark’s doltsopa hybrids are coming into flower and indeed the fragrance is delicious from the road as well as in our garden. The neighbours were wanting the full on scented experience, having detected it even while driving home.

Fairy Magnolia Blush

Fairy Magnolia Blush

For the domestic garden, Mark’s first michelia hybrid to be released is opening its flowers. Fairy Magnolia Blush is reasonably compact (and clips well) with distinctive pinky purple flowers of reasonably large size. This cultivar is on the NZ market and will become available overseas in the next few years.

The first flowers on Burgundy Star. Doltsopa seedlings behind.

The first flowers on Burgundy Star. Doltsopa seedlings behind.

The row of stock plants of Mark’s Burgundy Star are opening their first flowers though the original plant in our carpark is hardly showing colour. In our opinion, in the proper reds Burgundy Star takes the cake so far.

Prunus campanulata

campanulata (Small)
Most people call these flowering cherries and locals tend to take them for granted, unlike those people who live in colder parts of the world where they can not be grown. The ones flowering now are the Taiwanese or Formosan cherry (although only readers over about sixty will recall when the island of Taiwan was still Formosa). They range in colour from mid pink through bright sugar pinks to cerise or carmine and almost red. The reddest form on the market just happens to be called Prunus Felix Jury. We have a series which come into flower over a period of weeks and at times it can seem as if the trees are erupting with feeding tui. While it is hard to take a census (the birds won’t stay still long enough), it is common to find about 20 in one tree at any hour of the day. We think we must currently have at least 50 resident tui.

The downside to campanulatas is that some forms can seed down badly. If you are within a few kilometres of the national park or a nature reserve, make sure you search out forms advertised as sterile (in other words they don’t set seed). These late winter flowering cherries combine well with the early magnolias and because they are not a heavy looking tree, you can often tuck them in nearby so their mass of small flowers contrasts with the over the top magnolia blooms of campbellii or Vulcan. Campanulatas appear to be more disease resistant and healthier in our climate and are not susceptible to witches broom.

August 14, 2009 In the Garden

  • Heed the news story in our local paper last Saturday. Despite the fact that most of us feel that winter is wet here in Taranaki, we are in fact well below normal rainfall levels and entering some reasonably serious moisture deficit territory. For gardeners in areas which dry out quickly, this means getting a good layer of mulch onto your ornamental gardens before the soils dry out. The mulch will help conserve existing moisture.
  • When planting trees and shrubs, spread a layer of mulch on top of the soil but keep the area around the trunk or stem clear to avoid collar rot.
  • If you are new to vegetable gardening, stockpile leaf litter and get compost bins underway. You can not mulch vegetable gardens once in late winter and leave them for the rest of the summer as you can with some ornamental beds. You need a constant supply of mulch to use in the vegetable garden.
  • We are strong advocates of mulching with compost which adds natural nutrients and allows the build-up of beneficial microbes, insects and bacteria while it enriches the soil. It is also pleasing to the eye, or at least to our eyes. If you don’t have plenty of compost, organic materials such as leaf litter, pine needles, bark chip, wood shavings or, at a pinch, sawdust (if not tanalised) can all add a layer on top to conserve moisture, nourish the soils and to suppress weeds. You need a maximum depth of about 5cm. More is not better.
  • If you are doing a feeding round, spread the fertiliser and then put the mulch on top. It may discourage the dog from ferreting out the blood and bone, stop powdery fertiliser from blowing away, suppress the aroma of the Bioboost and it does get the fertiliser closer to the roots which is where it is needed.
  • Those die-hard lawn fanatics who are still of a mind to use hormone sprays on the grass (and we don’t expect any of you to own up to us), get onto to it now to minimise the potential damage to fresh spring growth on trees and shrubs. No matter how careful you are, the slightest drift will cause considerable distortion and damage to new leaves, particularly on magnolias so get in before such plants break into leaf. Hormone sprays are used to take out flat weeds and broad leaves.
  • The clock is starting to tick on the pruning of deciduous plants. Don’t delay any longer on these.
  • You won’t achieve much by rushing into planting out vegetables and annuals too early. Despite the glorious spring weather last weekend, we will have more cold snaps and early plantings will just sit in the ground awaiting the right temperatures. You are better to start these plants early in pots and trays and keep them in a protected spot for a few more weeks before planting out. However you can keep sowing hardy winter vegetables such as peas, brassicas, carrots and onions.
  • Stay on top of freshly germinating weeds and on terminating the spring crop of slugs and snails.

A step-by-step guide in creative camellias with Abbie Jury

A step by step guide by Abbie and Mark Jury first published in the Taranaki Daily News and reproduced here with permission as a PDF.

New Outdoor Classrooms are uploaded fortnightly.