Almost every tree man adapted to use for their own purposes. Some give it fruit, others give it wood. But magnolia is large-flowered (photographs of it are presented in the article), a tree that is already 140 million years old, offers nothing to man, except for beauty.
Magnolia has more than seventy species. Some of them are evergreen, others drop leaves. They can grow in the form of a tree and a tall bush. In the wild, common in America, East Asia, Indonesia. In our region, without shelter, magnolia large-flowered grows in the south. In mid-latitudes, winter requires special shelter.
Description
The height of the tree is about 20 meters, and some specimens reach 30 meters. The crown is wide, pyramidal or spherical. Petiole leaves, thick, dense, similar to ficus leaves.
The flowers are large or very large, their diameter reaches 20 cm. They are placed on the tops of the branches one at a time. Color - white, cream, pink, red, purple, lilac.
In our latitudes, only a few of the 120 available varieties grow, which are large-flowered magnolia. Growing it at home is a rather troublesome business, but affordable for enthusiasts.
Breeding
Large-flowered magnolia propagates:
- by seeds;
- cuttings and layering;
- vaccinated.
It is easy to get magnolia seedlings by layering. Having bent a branch and sprinkled it with earth, in a year or two you dig a strong seedling with a developed root system.
It is more difficult to propagate by cuttings. To do this, place them in a greenhouse and maintain a constant temperature and humidity.
Sowing seeds
Seeds are removed from the shell and sown in September in peat soil. They are placed in a cool place where the temperature keeps from 0 to 6 degrees, and wait a year, or even more, not forgetting to control the soil moisture.
Some resistant varieties are sown directly into the ground, covered with a layer of leaves. These seedlings will be more resistant to frost.
Sprouted plants are planted in a separate bowl and placed in a place protected from the cold. In the first year they grow very slowly, leaves begin to form only in the summer. In autumn, with the onset of rains, they begin to grow faster, thinking that it was time for the monsoons. In winter, the pots are hidden from the frost, and those growing in the ground are hidden.
The root system of plants is increasing, because every year they are transplanted into larger dishes.
At the age of three, magnolia is planted in open ground. This is best done in late autumn, in October. The root must be closed. The size of the pit for planting is three times the volume of the root.
Magnolia blooms in the fourth to tenth year, depending on the growing conditions. In the first years of life is very susceptible to lower temperatures. It can withstand frosts up to -20 ˚.
The processes are transplanted at the age of two in pots and kept in a greenhouse.
The soil
Large-flowered magnolia grows well on light fertile soils. He does not like calcareous soils. On them, she becomes ill with chlorosis, from which the leaves turn yellow, and the flowers stop forming. To correct the situation, you need to mix peat in the soil. Magnolia almost does not grow on both heavy and sandy soils.
Large-flowered magnolia prefers sunny (middle latitudes), sometimes slightly shaded (south) places. She does not like wind and drafts.
Care
Magnolia requires a lot of moisture. It must be watered from spring to autumn. To facilitate this procedure, the soil around the tree is mulched with pine needles, pieces of bark, leaves, peat at least five centimeters high. Close the ring with a radius of up to a meter. The trunk circle is left free so that the trunk is not damaged by fungal diseases.
Pruning
Magnolia is almost not cut. Only dry branches and those that grow inside the crown are removed.
Frozen branches are cut to healthy tissues and cover the cut with garden var.
Shelter
Two layers of burlap will protect the trunk from frost. But you need to do this carefully so as not to break the branches. Late autumn cover the trunk circle. You shouldn’t do this before, because the mice will get there.
Pests
- Mice are the worst enemies of magnolia, gnawing at the root neck.
- Moles damage the roots.
- A spider mite sits at the bottom of the leaf, draws juices out of it, and the leaf disappears.
Fertilizer
In the spring, nitrogen fertilizers are applied, in the summer - phosphorus-potash. At the same time, nitrogen is not introduced so that young stems do not begin to grow. After all, they still will not mature before winter and freeze.
Varieties
Winter hardy:
- Magnolia Cobus. Height - up to 12 m. It is interesting with a pyramidal crown, which over the years becomes spherical. Hardy tree that blooms in its thirtieth year of life with white flowers with a purple base. In the fall, leaves of dark green become tan.
- Star magnolia is a shrub up to 6 m high. The flowers are white, with a pink tint, with relatively thin petals. They smell very nice. It blooms very early.
- Magnolia Lebner (a hybrid of the two previous ones).
- Siebold - frost-resistant magnolia, withstands cold up to 30 degrees.
Relatively winter-hardy:
- Magnolia Sulange - a tree 10 meters high, in April blooms with purple flowers up to 25 cm in diameter, shaped like a tulip. Withstands up to 18 degrees of frost.
- Large-flowered magnolia Night gently grows in the Crimea and in the south of the Caucasus. Its height can reach fifteen meters. It blooms all summer, from May to September inclusive. Magnolia flowers. The night is tender milky white, fragrant. In diameter reach twelve centimeters. In autumn, red fruits ripen, which, however, are not consumed.
Using
Large-flowered magnolia will decorate any garden. Use it to decorate parks, disposing singly or in groups, complemented by various shrubs.
Magnolia leaves contain alkaloids, flavonoids and other beneficial compounds. Preparations from them help to lower blood pressure and treat hypertension in the initial stages, as well as rheumatism and digestive tract diseases.
The infusion of magnolia leaves is used to wash hair when they fall out.