I did lose a branch in very high winds, but it is not against the house wall, it adjoins next doors old orchard, it gets shaded from a huge wild cherry, and it survived the -15c frost we had a couple of years back which killed my Daphne bholua and Phormiums.
I dont think you will get a M. grandiflora to flower in a large pot. The flowers are magnificent but few. I wouldn't buy one again if I was starting from scratch in a new garden. I think M. soulangeana or M liliflora are much more suited to the average size garden.
Hi Baywood, My step father had a similar problem some years back. He eventually moved it, as it was in the way of a new aviary construction. He only moved it 5 metres away and on the same aspect. It has flowered every year since. If it's not flowering after 10 years in the ground, what have you got to lose ?
Edd, I'm surprised you said M. grandiflora is the most common one. Around here there are lots of the pink flowered deciduous type (soulangeana) and a few white flowered liliflora. If you have a wander around kew at this time of year,there are lots of magnolias in flower, none of them M. grandiflora which flowers later on , sporadically through the summer months.
Thank you for all your responses and help. It is definately a grandiflora , after googling for pictures! I dont really want to move it and risk losing it, and in our smallish garden there isnt really anywhere else it can go, and if it never flowers, well at least it provides some cover from our horrible neighbours( thats another story!) i will attempt some type of drainage where possible and will get some specific feed if anyone can recommend one, but other than that i think i will leave well alone, its lovely and alive after all, and perhaps find a smaller type that will flower earlier in its growing time and ideally a sping flowering one.
Off topic slightly, but has anyone else noticed how spectacular the magnolias are this year? Conditions (at least round here) have definitely suited them, but I appreciate things are lot more challenging in other areas. Will go and inspect our stick specimen. Don't know where I am going to put it, cos the only place where we have proper soil is exposed and slopes towards the north, probably alkaline soil (although to be fair, I haven't tested it - must do that). So it's going to be a bit of a challenge when it outgrows its bucket. Tempting to buy a humungous pot and keep it in the sheltered part of the garden.
Baywood does your magnolia have anything planted under it? or maybe planted in the lawn as a focal point? Reason I ask is that I don't think they like anything around their base until they become mature trees.
I have hellebores and pulmonarias under mine, but the roots of the magnolia are shallow. I give a mulch of compost or (this year) a load of well rotted FYM.
My soulangeana is just showing pink buds. It flowers two weeks later than the others around here, because it is shaded so much. It is less prone to frost damage because of that. Now I've just got to stop the squirrel from eating the flowers now he's finished off all the camellia flowers.
sorry its on its side, this the magnolia, the fence used to be conifer until last august(neighbours not ours) there is christmas rose, holly and few self seeded primroses and couple of daffs
Posts
I did lose a branch in very high winds, but it is not against the house wall, it adjoins next doors old orchard, it gets shaded from a huge wild cherry, and it survived the -15c frost we had a couple of years back which killed my Daphne bholua and Phormiums.
I dont think you will get a M. grandiflora to flower in a large pot. The flowers are magnificent but few. I wouldn't buy one again if I was starting from scratch in a new garden. I think M. soulangeana or M liliflora are much more suited to the average size garden.
Hi Baywood, My step father had a similar problem some years back. He eventually moved it, as it was in the way of a new aviary construction. He only moved it 5 metres away and on the same aspect. It has flowered every year since. If it's not flowering after 10 years in the ground, what have you got to lose ?
The whole shrub possibly? I think moving it should be the last resort. We don't even know which species it is to be giving the best advice yet.
Edd, I'm surprised you said M. grandiflora is the most common one. Around here there are lots of the pink flowered deciduous type (soulangeana) and a few white flowered liliflora. If you have a wander around kew at this time of year,there are lots of magnolias in flower, none of them M. grandiflora which flowers later on , sporadically through the summer months.
Hello , a dose of potash in the autumn should help.
Thank you for all your responses and help. It is definately a grandiflora , after googling for pictures! I dont really want to move it and risk losing it, and in our smallish garden there isnt really anywhere else it can go, and if it never flowers, well at least it provides some cover from our horrible neighbours( thats another story!) i will attempt some type of drainage where possible and will get some specific feed if anyone can recommend one, but other than that i think i will leave well alone, its lovely and alive after all, and perhaps find a smaller type that will flower earlier in its growing time and ideally a sping flowering one.
Off topic slightly, but has anyone else noticed how spectacular the magnolias are this year? Conditions (at least round here) have definitely suited them, but I appreciate things are lot more challenging in other areas. Will go and inspect our stick specimen. Don't know where I am going to put it, cos the only place where we have proper soil is exposed and slopes towards the north, probably alkaline soil (although to be fair, I haven't tested it - must do that). So it's going to be a bit of a challenge when it outgrows its bucket. Tempting to buy a humungous pot and keep it in the sheltered part of the garden.
Baywood does your magnolia have anything planted under it? or maybe planted in the lawn as a focal point? Reason I ask is that I don't think they like anything around their base until they become mature trees.
I have hellebores and pulmonarias under mine, but the roots of the magnolia are shallow. I give a mulch of compost or (this year) a load of well rotted FYM.
My soulangeana is just showing pink buds. It flowers two weeks later than the others around here, because it is shaded so much. It is less prone to frost damage because of that. Now I've just got to stop the squirrel from eating the flowers now he's finished off all the camellia flowers.
sorry its on its side, this the magnolia, the fence used to be conifer until last august(neighbours not ours) there is christmas rose, holly and few self seeded primroses and couple of daffs