magnolia tree, soulangeana and grandilflora

These plants tend to be a bit more sensitive to frost when they are small but get a a bit more tolerant as they get bigger - I bought a grandiflora off Ebay a couple of years ago and kept it in a pot over the first winter so I could give it some protection inside - I planted it out last Spring and its doing OK now - whether I will ever see it grow big enough to flower is another question of course :-)

There was a soulangeana here when I moved in. It took up so much room that i ended up taking it out. It looked great whilst in flower but they don't last long and then you're left with a big green blob that, for me, didn't earn its keep.
My neighbour has one that has grown very tall, taller than her 2 storey house and looks magnificent in flower, but again, afterwards, its a tall green blob.
I'm not saying this to put you off, just my view. I wouldn't grow another one.

So even though they say fully hardy, not so? That could have been why hers all died. I was quite convinced it was the soil after I read they like acidic conditions. Could have been a combi of both, I suppose.

I was hoping a 3 year old was mature enough to flower - again, not so?! I really got a kick out of seeing what looked like a lotus on a tree

We like monster trees - My mum, especially, is very envious of those peeps with magnolias taller than their house.

Got the space, fortunately, and since no one will let me keep chickens, goats or bees, I have to think of things to fill it up. I'd really love a goat though. And chickens. And bees.

My favourite monster trees, here, are camellias. They flower for months, have glossy leaves year round and the bees love the flowers.
You may be right about the acidic soil though as camellias also like it and they thrive too.

I thought Camellias could be a bit tender? I would love one but my garden gets hard frosts in winter.

You're right Scarlet, Camellias generally are prone to frost damage to the flowers and flower buds - anything lower than about -3 if the plant is out in the open, means no flowers that year.

Is it a problem even with a fleece cover? I tend to cover everything if it gets icy. My container pear and plum are both under cover still, cuz the weather has been so weird.

Bob wants a magnolia tree. I think he may be pushing his luck up here .
He only wants one because pickled magnolia petals are bl@@dy lovely.
None of that is even remotely helpful, sorry.

You can eat magnolia petals?! That's even better cuz if I'm growing flowers, I do prefer them edible.

Hardy is one of those words which sounds definitive, but plants don't fit so neatly into a category, so sometimes is a bit trickier than that.

There are plant for example which will stand quite a bit of bone dry cold - eg some irises - but if they get cold and wet, odds on you'll lose most or all of them.

I'd say as a rule of thumb some trees and shrubs are much hardier in their fully gown form than when they are little. I have a Ceanothus which is fully grown at about 6' tall and has stood OK through -7 but some two year old cuttings from it which were planted nearby were killed.

I'm no expert on magnolia, but if I was buying a small one I'd keep it in a pot for at least a year perhaps longer and then plant it out one Spring after it got bigger.

Obviously it would be better to ask a real expert and preferably one who lives near you :-)

Here you go.

https://www.eatweeds.co.uk/pickled-m...flowers-recipe

Darn....mine got hit with frost last night, otherwise I'd have loved to have tried that recipe!
I have a soulangeana and the flowers are hit by frost every single year and they look a mess until the leaves come out.
I had one too in Cheshire and that was the same.
We get colder winters here -down to -18C , and the mature tree survives, but it is only about 20 feet from the house.
Neither were bought, just inherited with the house.
I'd not choose to plant one , but I did buy a couple of young Stella's ( 3ft high) and they both died during their first winter outside

A bit of a plant bible for me is Garden Plants for Scotland by Ken Cox, gives advice on hardy varieties of all sorts.

For magnolias he says to plant somewhere as sunny as possible, definitely not under other trees, and with some wind shelter. They like humus-rich acid soil, and like being mulched with manure.

He says grandiflora isn't much good up here, not warm long enough for good flowering - not an issue in London I imagine. With March to May magnolias eg soulangeana there is always the risk of frost damage to flowers, and he would recommend sieboldii or wilsonii (up to 8m so plenty big!) as they flower a bit later, so avoiding frost damage. Scented too. These even grow and flower in Shetland apparently, and are the best choice for cold inland gardens.

That said, I live in Edinburgh and there are plenty of soulangeanas flowering round here right now, and also in west Scotland (Ayrshire) where I was at the weekend.

Regarding camellias, they also flower very well in Edinburgh.

Ken Cox says they need moist acid soil, and would recommend williamsii for colder areas, but definitely not japonica or sasquana. Shame, sasquana are so pretty and a bit smaller, so would suit me. However Cox does say that the coldest of inland gardens may struggle with williamsii too, so try on a south or west wall to have the best chance of success.

I like williamsii better than japonica anyway, because the dead flowers drop automatically (unlike japonica), so you're not left with a mix of flowers and brown mush on the shrub at the same time.

There are camellias flowering all round Edinburgh right now, so they do well here.