I had my Magnolia shoes on today...

..now straighten up...

Full view of this six year old specimen...

WOW! Those are pics Decumbent would be proud of. BTW, in regards to the 2nd to last photo--been there.

Didnt' know there was another photo coming in. Make it 3rd to last photo.

This message was edited Mar 28, 2007 4:05 PM

And one more time, from the top.

Count on Maackia to have the fond memory (for a moment, I thought you'd been skulking around Creason Park).

Enough of those lousy deep pink devils. How about some more yellow?

Phil Savage was a great guy, and a greater plantsman. I had the incredible pleasure of meeting him, at his house, back in December 1991. What kind of idiot...wait, let me rephrase that for the benefit of all the wolverines, spartans, and other geese/ganders...who would by choice travel from KY to MI in winter to look at deciduous plants?

There were at least two of us, and we had a big old time in Phil's yard. I was still working where "money was no object" and Phil had trees he'd sell. We got to see the parents (or originals) of many of his fine introductions. He was so gracious to spend most of a day with a couple of goobers who were like kids in a candy shop.

To top it off, we spent the next brittle but bright day at Hidden Lake Gardens. Go figure.

Here is one of the late Mr. Savage's fine progeny: 'Butterflies', from a scanned slide. It blooms here with the PJM rhodos/azaleas, to fine effect.

Back here at the Valley, in morning sun with a little thumb...

Except for the first picture of 'Butterflies' with the fuzzy azaleas in the background, all these shots are from April 2005 in central KY.

This one, against a blue sky, was two days before the previous photo of a morning shot. Notice it doesn't look as yellow here.

Then again, with the sun rising in backlight, it has a golden glow.

You knew I had to have a "plan view" shot, creamy this time.

OK, back to showing some pink.

Here's a scanned slide of Magnolia stellata 'Jane Platt'.

And an obligatory closeup...

I think I need to get another drool towel. Darn them Mag's are gorgeous.

Found my way to Fairweather. Magnolia city it sure is. It sooooo hard to pick. I se e if I want oen this year gonan have to decid e and get it quick think they stop shipping soon.

Lots of great pictures here! Scott, in regards to the magnolia by the porch: It could be 'Ann' but I don't know the Girls well. Is it growing in some shade? It looks leggier than what typical 'Ann' does. 'Jane Platt' looks interesting. A couple that haven't made it to this page so far. These are from last year as ours are just cracking open now.

Magnolia x soulangiana 'Alexandrina' or whatever one wants to call it.

Magnolia stellata 'Centennial'

Magnolia x soulangiana with creative license

Magnolia x loebnerii 'Dr. Merrill'

Magnolia acuminata 'Seiju' I had great hopes for this based on Dirr's description. I either recieved the wrong thing or the color changes to (nice) yellow fast.

Last but not least, Magnolia 'Golden Gift'

Double WoW!

Good show, LHDP.

Wow, now I need a new keyboard - I am drooling like Niagara Falls.

Great pics, everyone! Please keep the show going.

I just ordered Magnolia 'Coral Lake' from Forest Farm. I still want a yellow magnolia, so I may have to dig something up to have the room for a yellow magnolia. (:o)
Mike

(edited to change wording)


This message was edited Mar 29, 2007 2:16 PM

Someone asked about Magnolia salicifolia.

I can't say I am well-versed on this plant, but Beaver Creek Nursery used to grow it. I got one, planted it in 1999. It is finally putting out some flowers, but only up near the top.

Here's a pic or two.

VV,
Thanks for the pic of M. salicifolia. Since the tree is blooming near the top you have probably not noticed if the flowers are fragrant or not.

Does anyone know if the flowers are fragrant?
Thanks,
Mike

Each of the several texts I have say it is fragrant. Maybe I'll remember to sniff more and photo less next time.

As I was waiting for my furiously pedaling squirrel driven dialup computer to load the last image, I took a look-see at the description for anise magnolia (Magnolia salicifolia). Supposed to have six tepals, and any KY yayhoo can see there's mor'n that on that flower.

Could be I have Magnolia x proctoriana...maybe kman will drop by with a diagnosis. And some pics of his magnolia collection.

Here's a pic that gives a general idea of the size of the plant; sorry it's dark.

One more shot of M. salicifolia with the hand scale.

Ernie,

You are the master! Incredible pictures. I have been told that "Golden Gift' is exceptional.

Scott

OK, rustled up some Magnolia x 'Ann' pics from the Valley. I think Scott had it right way up above. 'Ann' is one of the wideloads of the Little Girls series, though.

Here she is in all her glory.

Some near shots of 'Ann'...

An underplanting idea...

One more, open this time.

The Magnolias are nice, but what I covet is that rail fence and lush blue grass pasture.

VV,

I'm not familiar with Magnolia salicifolia either but I did run into a planting of 'W.B. Clarke' at the Chicago Botanic Garden last year. They seem to display more than six tepals also. A quick search turned up this: http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/articles/1115.pdf which states that they can have up to 12 tepals rarely. Where is Resin when we need him? I almost posted the picture last night but thought it would be too obscure to be interesting. A large oversight in rational thinking. I keep thinking I'm at work, which is a very common thought this time of year. Keep feeding them squirrels butternuts.

Scott- I like 'Golden Gift' because it should stay smaller and opens later than some of the other yellows. It also doesn't seem to open up all at once, instead spreading flowering out over a period of a couple of weeks. Good for selling retail.

Yes, very nice pics, Ernie. In fact, kudos to all of you for whetting my magnolia appetite with your gorgeous pictures. A bit off topic to be sure, but it would be interesting (at least to me) to hear from someone in the retail hort industry about customer buying habits. Observations I've made while strolling through nurseries is that most people are drawn to flowering trees, which is why selling Crabapple cultivars in May must be like stealing candy from a kid. Just curious, but what trees are the most frustrating for you to sell? I would think Gymnocladus would be right near the top. It has the shape of a stickman when young, and I too would have passed on one until I had a chance to see mature specimens. Any others that, try as you might, the uninformed just won't bite on? I'm thinking of trees that have great ornamental merit, but without being able to show John and Mary Public a mature specimen (or in flower) on the nursery grounds, they just aren't interested. Sorry, back to Magnolias.

You guys are making me so jealous with your lovely photos. Just when I thought I was the only magnolialover....hooray! There's more than just me!

Maackia,

My retail experience is minimal compared to Ernie's, but I've been frustrated trying to sell off-season performers like witchhazels and even winterberry. There is just no way to convey to many people that the plain Jane in that pot will produce flowers from January into March or will have the most incredibly showy berries from October to January. Same with very early and late perennials too.

Scott

OK, magnolialover, but only because you hail from so close to my mom's hometown (Middleton).

How about some Magnolia x 'Ivory Chalice'?

A whole plant shot with some pastoral (pastural?) KY as supporting cast...

'Ivory Chalice' showing the faint yellow blush...

Again, opening to display its bounty...

One more, the view into the chalice.

Great shots, VV!

I think you need to ditch your day-job and travel around KY taking photographs of all of the blooming trees. You, of course, would then need to post the photographs here on Dave's! (:o)

Can you see if you can find a 'Coral Lake' magnolia in bloom and post the photographs here?
Thanks,
Mike

Viburnum, what a beautiful shot in the pasture! Picturesque, really! I am not familiar with that one, though it looks to be a beautiful selection.
Middleton is "my back yard" practically. Just went over to a place called the Bruce Company yesterday, as they always have a wonderful selection of bulbs for me to plant out, as if I haven't enough ;0) Small world.
But really, I can't thank you folks enough for these spring shots. That pasture one would make a beautiful digital painting. Ever done that with a favorite photograph?