A nice surprise but where to plant it

Hello All,

I was wandering around my local costco and came across a v.nice Magnolia plant for sale. It was just over a mtr high with loads of buds just about to open all for �£18.99 which I thought was V.Cheap and so bought it .

However I have now got home and am trying to decide where to plant it but I can't remember just how big they can get. Am I right that they end up as a Tree? If so how big am I looking at and should I plant it in a place away from the house?

Any advice welcome

 

They can get a lot bigger than you'd think! I've seen them along one road in Wtford, where practically every house has one - and by eye, I'd say some were up to 20ft!

That's not how most people haev them though, and it depends a lot on which type you have. Do you know whic type? Costco is unlikely to have given you a lot of info on the label, I suspect :rolleyes:

This one, a stellata is said to be one of the smallest - and that grow up to 10ft... They are lovely, but they are prone to flower damage if there's a late frost, so a sheltered spot would be sensible.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/519.shtml

 

This is a Magnolia soulangia almost 30 years old. It took a while to get going but latterly grew like the clappers. It was fairly severely pruned back a couple of times as it was cutting out the light from the tiny garden on the other side of the brick wall.

 

Is that about 10ft, Dave? Lovely tree!

Bears out what the link says, that it does ok on acid as well as alkaline soil..... I assume you have acid? I haven't seen a lot up here, and was never sure if it was purely the frost damaging the flowers which made people not bother with them, or whether they just didn't thrive on the acid..... but looks like with a reasonably sheltered spot they are ok in any soil. What's your experience of it, Dave?

 

Probably nearer 12 feet or more. And given that the roots ran under a concrete patio I'd guess that it was growing in rather limey soil. It was well sheltered from the east wind which can be quite chilly here at times.

Sadly it got the chain-saw kiss a couple of months ago and what wasn't shredded for the compost heap will be feeding the chiminea. I've taken one cutting though and am hoping it will root so that I can grow it on again in another part of the garden.

 

I'll take a photo and post it on but if you can go off the colour of the flowers they start off as a pale pink and then go to white.

I have a flower bed that is in the middle of my top garden next to my pond with a stream running through the bed to the bottom corner of the garden if I plant it there would the roots effect the stream or do they go quite deep?

I know it's difficult to picture this so when I get home from work I'll take some photos.

 

An awful lot of magnolias would fit that description, Jen - so a photo would help!

If the ground isn't too wet where you describe, I can't see a problem. Trees generally have a few deep roots for securing themselves in the ground, but have lots of thinner roots near the surface for taking in water and nutrients (which is why it's a good idea to have a circle free of grass round any try, BTW....)

Is the place you're thinking of sheltered? That's the most important thing if you don't want disappointment with the flowers.