Does any tree conjure up images of the Southeast more than Magnolia grandiflora?
The southern magnolia is the state flower of Louisiana and both the state tree and state flower of Mississippi.
This magnificent fragrant flowering tree may grow to be 100 feet tall and 50 feet wide. Flowering begins in May, continuing throughout the growing season. Native Americans avoided sleeping under these trees because they believed the scent could overpower them while they slept.
The magnolia family contains 12 genera all of which are indigenous to either the eastern United States or eastern China. The fossil record tells us that at one time magnolias were common throughout the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere. The ice age that ended the Tertiary Period led to mass plant extinction as the glaciers
shoved them up against the Alps and Himalayan mountains. Because the Appalachians run north to south, plants escaped the glaciers’ path, surviving along the coastal plain and south of the ice sheet. Similar geography in eastern China allowed the survival of remnant plant populations there.
Though the southern magnolia is evergreen, most magnolias are deciduous, meaning they shed their leaves in the fall. Preferring full sun and slightly acid soil, our classic magnolia is only cold tolerant to Zone 7. The Asian magnolias (left) flower before producing new foliage in spring while American magnolias flower after leafing out. Throughout our nation today, the Asian cultivars are more popular as specimen landscape trees.
Garden writer Rick Darke recommends M. virginiana, sweet bay, for home landscapes. This smaller tree is native to wetlands and so is more tolerant of poor drainage. He states that it plays well with Clethra, commonly called sweet pepper bush. Sweet bay was the first magnolia to be grown in Europe, where the fragrant flowers may persist until winter.
Magnolias are among the most primitive flowering plants. The earliest fossil evidence is from the Cretaceous Period 95 million years ago. Their flowers evolved to attract beetles, which still serve as their pollinators. The showy parts of the flower are too undifferentiated to be classified as
petals or sepals and are called “tepals.” Lilies and tulips are examples of other flowers sporting tepals. Incidentally, the tulip poplar, Liriodendron tulipifera, is not a poplar but rather a member of the magnolia clan. Those big orange and yellow blooms are formed of tepals.
(Photos: The flowers of the southern magnolia (above), tulips (left) and Asian magnolia (right) are all composed of tepals.)
Calycanthus floridus, Carolina Allspice (below, left), is a native shrub blooming with tepals. Growing in full sun to part shade and tolerant of damp clay, this is a trouble-free plant. The spring flowers have a fruity fragrance which may vary widely in plants grown from seed. Clone-propagated plants should have consistent scent, but one might want to give it
a whiff test prior to purchase. The mature size of this rounded shrub may reach six to nine feet in height and width. It does reproduce by suckers and may form a dense clump if these are not removed.
I have long loved the odd reddish-brown flowers of Carolina Allspice. Now there are cultivars that bloom in white as well as yellow. Interesting to note that Calycanthus is also
pollinated by beetles. How wonderful to have a flower that has stood the test of time!
Master gardener Ann Bartlett cultivates flowers both primitive and sophisticated in the ornamental beds around her home. Her extensive knowledge of horticulture enables her to find more than the usual number of rhymes for "people."
