Magnolia Flower Power

How many plants have the power to stop people in their tracks? Perhaps a grove of cherry trees covered in pink spring blossoms, seen against a perfect blue sky … maybe a wildflower meadow, dotted by bright multicoloured blooms, gently swaying in the breeze … rhododendrons in full flower can also look spectacular as can wisteria in late spring draped around a garden cottage or pergola, but here is another thought -  what about a deciduous magnolia, 6m to 8m in height (and taller), in full flower – I really do wonder if there is a more spectacular display, even if it only lasts for a few short weeks in mid-to-late springtime. Covered by voluptuous blooms that often grow from bare branches, the deciduous varieties can be real show-stoppers.

Photo taken in late March in West Berkshire, England

I have been lucky to regularly see these annual displays. Bare branches transformed almost overnight. Before the flowers open, they form tightly packed but large, upwardly pointing buds. On a mature tree there can be many hundreds of them but even so, they don’t really catch the eye at that stage. However, at some point triggered by the warming temperature, these large buds start to open and almost overnight the canopy will be filled with large voluptuous flowers that will engage even the hardest-hearted.

Magnolia seen above a high garden fence - photo taken in late April in Bytom, Poland, shows some flowers already beginning to die off

I was reminded of the phenomenal ‘power of magnolia flowers’ when out with my camera last spring in Warsaw. Quite by accident I discovered that I often pass a number of magnolias growing in private gardens. They are planted singly, as specimens, mostly only visible above tall garden walls and boundary hedges, but because their moment of glory is so brief, I had missed them in previous years. I came across the first one just a few minutes into my walk. There were a number of people gathered, looking up, pointing and taking photos on their phones. They were admiring a beautiful young magnolia, its white flowers flushed with pinks, some open and some just beginning to open. As people moved on, so others would stop, stare in wonder and take their own photos. Maybe we are ‘hardwired’ to appreciate beautiful things, which is a nice thought. Beauty matters! it is such a shame that the flowers fade and drop their petals so quickly. The trees then tend to disappear into the background ‘green fuse’, their brief but spectacular show over (but not forgotten) for another year.

This young magnolia is planted as a specimen in a small municipal garden in Warsaw. It is about 3.5m tall. Photo taken in April.

Having ‘discovered’ my first magnolia that day (photo above), I was hooked and set out to find more. It was the right time of year in Warsaw to see magnolias at different stages of flowering. How surprising it was to suddenly see so many. In one Warsaw park there was even an area dedicated to magnolias. Most of the specimens were young, but in flower. I visited the park very recently this year, but I was slightly early and spring temperatures have been yo-yoing here, just as they have in the UK, delaying plant development.  The nice thought is that these park magnolias will flourish with ever-greater aplomb as they mature over the coming decades. ‘Hats off’ to the gardeners who made this happen. There were flowers of different shapes and many colours last year, as shown in the photos below.

Photo taken in Krasiński Gardens, Warsaw. There are perhaps 10 small magnolia trees planted in a formal setting. While they already create an arresting display, their impact will increase in the years to come.

Krasiński Gardens, Warsaw. The magnolias are spaced out in a discrete area defined by clipped yew hedging, Taxus baccata.

Krasiński Park, Warsaw. This is one of the unusual and beautiful flower forms that can be seen in late March / through April, each year. The trees are not currently labelled so I am unable to provide the magnolia name.

Kew Gardens, London has a wonderful magnolia grove– a magnificent Magnolia heptapeta ‘Yulan’, photo taken March 2022 @kewgardens 

Photo above shows Magnolia cambellii at Kew gardens, flowering in mid-March 2022. Kew has a grove of mature magnolias, creating a wonderful display, drawing the crowds @kewgardens 

Magnolia sprengeri var. Diva, March 2022 growing at Kew Gardens, London. The flower is almost rose-like in its perfection @kewgardens 

So if you are thinking about options for a show-stopping specimen plant and you have a reasonably spacious sunny garden, perhaps a magnolia is worth thinking about.

The above Text and all Photographs are copyright of Wincenty (Wicek) Sosna. Please contact SeeHow for permission to reproduce in any way, in part or as the complete text