{"id":3015,"date":"2020-03-30T07:23:58","date_gmt":"2020-03-30T15:23:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/?p=3015"},"modified":"2020-03-30T07:23:58","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T15:23:58","slug":"starry-starry-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/starry-starry-days\/","title":{"rendered":"Starry, Starry Days"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"star<\/a>The spring beauty of star magnolia flies in the face of epidemics and uncertainty.\u00a0 They are the first magnolias to open their petals as the air warms up, offering up cascades of \u201cstars\u201d–actually showy flowers composed of multiple slender petals.\u00a0 Most often those petals are white, but occasionally you will see a pink-flowered specimen.\u00a0 All star magnolias, or Magnolia stellata, as they are known to the botanically minded, perfume the spring breezes with a sweet, light scent.<\/p>\n

Star magnolias emigrated from their native Japan and were introduced in the United States in 1862.\u00a0 They were first mentioned in an 1890 nursery catalog issued by the New Jersey-based Henderson Nursery.\u00a0 Its owner, Peter Henderson, then at the end of a long life and career, was a well-known figure in American horticulture.\u00a0 His two successful books, Gardening For Profit <\/em>and Practical Floraculture<\/em> were hits with the gardening public.<\/p>\n

Star magnolia was also a hit, catching on because of its many virtues.\u00a0 It is showy enough to be massed in large spaces, but compact enough to stand out as a specimen tree in a small garden.\u00a0 Mature stellatas top out at no more than 20 feet tall and 15 feet wide.\u00a0 They can be grown as large shrubs, but are most frequently seen as small trees.\u00a0 Because of their small size, they are good curbside specimens and grow low enough so that they won\u2019t disturb overhead power lines.<\/p>\n

Like many magnolias, the stellatas emerge from the cold weather months with soft, fuzzy buds containing the nascent flowers.\u00a0 When those flowers pop open they exude fragrance that is compelling without being overpowering.\u00a0 The scent is a good argument for positioning star magnolias close to houses, patios, walkways and other gathering areas.\u00a0 Once their moment of spring glory fades, stellata flowers give way to knobby, two-inch long seed pods that eventually ripen and split, revealing round orange seeds.\u00a0 Though the pods are not nearly as showy as the flowers, they add to the overall attraction of the plant.\u00a0 Smooth gray bark is easy on the eye, as are the dark green, ovoid leaves, which turn yellow in the fall before leaving the scene.<\/p>\n

According to Michael Dirr, in his invaluable Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, <\/em>breeders have introduced a good many star magnolia varieties.\u00a0 However, many of them are relatively hard to find.\u00a0 Probably the most common is \u2018Royal Star\u2019, which features pinkish buds that open to fat white flowers with up to 30 petals apiece.\u00a0 Introduced in the 1950\u2019s, it is popular enough to persist among Monrovia Nursery\u2019s current offerings.\u00a0 \u2018Royal Star\u2019s parent, \u2018Waterlily\u2019, is another popular variety.\u00a0 The buds are dark rose-pink and the flowers are white.\u00a0 \u2018Waterlily\u2019 features fewer and thinner petals than \u2018Royal Star\u2019, but compensates with an upright growth habit.\u00a0 According to Dr. Dirr, \u2018Waterlily\u2019 flowers a bit later than its royal offspring.<\/p>\n

I am very partial to \u2018Rosea\u2019, which is light pink flowers and is reputedly quite cold hardy.\u00a0 It was once the most readily available of the pink-flowered varieties.\u00a0 I would also love to see, buy and grow \u2018Dawn\u2019. Dr. Dirr notes that each long white petal is adorned with a pink stripe, which persists over the life of the flower.\u00a0 Some well-stocked nurseries may carry it, but I have yet to find an online source.<\/p>\n

Introduced to honor the one hundredth anniversary of Harvard\u2019s famed Arnold Arboretum, \u2018Centennial\u2019 boasts very large flowers that may be over five inches across with up to thirty petals.\u00a0 Those petals are white blushed with pink, which mark \u2018Centennial\u2019 as the offspring of \u2018Rosea\u2019.\u00a0 While some stellata varieties seem to have an innate fondness for shrubby growth, \u2018Centennial\u2019 is much more upright and tree-like.<\/p>\n

All stellatas have similar cultural requirements.\u00a0 They thrive best in sunny locations that are sheltered from excessive wind.\u00a0 Unlike some other ornamental trees, stellatas are not fussy about soil conditions, though rich, well-drained soil is always best.\u00a0 Regular water is a good idea while the tree is getting established, but star magnolias are somewhat drought tolerant thereafter.<\/p>\n

If you want to see stars next spring, make your choice now.\u00a0 Good local nurseries should carry at least one variety, and many of those nurseries will deliver your choice to your door.\u00a0 Nurseries that stock Monrovia plants may carry \u2018Royal Star\u2019.\u00a0 To find a Monrovia retailer near you, go to http:\/\/www.monrovia.com<\/a>.\u00a0 ForestFarm carries \u2018Waterlily\u2019.\u00a0 Find them at 14643 Watergap Rd, Williams, OR 97544,\u00a0 (541) 846-7269; www.forestfarm.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Gossler Farms Nursery carries the pink-flowered \u2018Jane Platt\u2019, which won the Royal Hortcultural Society\u2019s Award of Garden Merit (AGM) for overall performance.\u00a0 This may be as close as you will get to \u2018Rosea\u201d.\u00a0 Gossler Farms is at 1200 Weaver Rd, Springfield, OR 97478; (541) 746-3922; www. gosslerfarms.com.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The spring beauty of star magnolia flies in the face of epidemics and uncertainty.\u00a0 They are the first magnolias to open their petals as the air warms up, offering up cascades of \u201cstars\u201d–actually showy flowers composed of multiple slender petals.\u00a0 Most often those petals are white, but occasionally you will see a pink-flowered specimen.\u00a0 All … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,2],"tags":[209,1026,1377,1504,1713,1162,1381,1376,1025],"class_list":["post-3015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall","category-general-interest","category-spring","tag-fragrant-flowers","tag-landscape-trees","tag-magnolia-stellata","tag-magnolias","tag-ornamental-trees","tag-small-gardens","tag-spring-flowering-trees","tag-star-magnolia","tag-street-trees"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3015"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3015\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3017,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3015\/revisions\/3017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}