Hello, I have a two year-old magnolia soulangeana which has produced five flowers this year. Sadly, the petals have become brown and dull as they opened out. I have tried googling to find out the problem but nothing has come up, except that magnolias tend to be disease free! In all other respects the young tree seems healthy. I hope someone can help.

jay jay
france

On 27/3/08 09:25, in article , "jay jay"
wrote:

Hello, I have a two year-old magnolia soulangeana which has produced
five flowers this year. Sadly, the petals have become brown and dull
as they opened out. I have tried googling to find out the problem but
nothing has come up, except that magnolias tend to be disease free! In
all other respects the young tree seems healthy. I hope someone can
help.

jay jay
france

At a guess, rain, wind and cold, if you've been getting all those. Magnolias
don't like cold wind on the developing buds. Two years ago we lost all the
buds on our M. campbellii to frost.

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

In article ,
says...

Hello, I have a two year-old magnolia soulangeana which has produced
five flowers this year. Sadly, the petals have become brown and dull
as they opened out. I have tried googling to find out the problem but
nothing has come up, except that magnolias tend to be disease free! In
all other respects the young tree seems healthy. I hope someone can
help.

jay jay
france




--
jay jay

Frost damage is what you have, there is nothing to be done except hope
the plant has better timing in future years, as it gets bigger the buds
will be higher and therefore a bit less vunerable but even in the west of
Cornwall it can break your heart to see the display that you have waited
12 months to see gone in a couple of hours when night temperatures dip
below zero. The gardens that grow them tend to use woodland settings
which helps, there are later flowering magnolias so if it is a regular
occurence you could plant another later flowerer.
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea

Sacha wrote:

At a guess, rain, wind and cold, if you've been getting all those.
Magnolias don't like cold wind on the developing buds. Two years ago
we lost all the buds on our M. campbellii to frost.

What a shame! It's not exactly the magnolia most keen to get into flowering
mode, either. How many years have you had it?

--
Jeff
(cut "thetape" to reply)

On 27/3/08 10:08, in article ,
"Jeff Layman" wrote:

Sacha wrote:

At a guess, rain, wind and cold, if you've been getting all those.
Magnolias don't like cold wind on the developing buds. Two years ago
we lost all the buds on our M. campbellii to frost.

What a shame! It's not exactly the magnolia most keen to get into flowering
mode, either. How many years have you had it?

This M. Campbellii was quite keen to get going, in fact. Ray planted it
about 16 years ago (he thinks) and this is its third or fourth year of
flowering, including the one when it lost all the buds. He planted it in
the churchyard next to us as his own 'memorial' and did wonder if he'd ever
see it flower himself. Well, he has and a real picture it is, too.
But he heard a sorry story of an old man who had planted one and waited
years and years for it to flower. When it did finally, it was the wrong
colour. Dolefully, the old man went to the nursery he'd bought it from all
those years before and chastised them for it. When they offered him another
he said, very sadly, "what's the point - I'm 84"!
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

It's not disease, it's just weather damage, always a risk with magnolia flowers, especially if they are early flowering. Frost is the common cause, but battering from rain and wind can also cause it. If you think the weather you have been experiencing is untypical for the time of year, then just pray for better weather in future years. If you think the weather is not untypical, then perhaps plant a later flowering one instead before its too late, or if you have put it in an exposed location, perhaps you can find a more sheltered location for it (though it won't appreciate being dug up and moved, better buy another). Putting my M. stellata in my east facing front garden was likewise a mistake... I believe that M. x soulangeana comes in a number of varieties which flower at different times, and with different shades of flower.

Hello Echinosum, many thanks for your reply. I started out with such hopes for this Magnolia but I guess it could well be doomed - yes we've had frost, heavy rain and yes its normal! But other Magnolias round here flower at the same time and look healthy. I don't think mine is particularly exposed and it's definitely not in a frost pocket. It IS east facing but that means early morning sun. I wonder if it would be worth covering it with fleece as the flower buds open? At least whilst it is young enough to reach the top...


jay jay

"jay jay" wrote echinosum;780960 Wrote:
It's not disease, it's just weather damage, always a risk with magnolia
flowers, especially if they are early flowering. Frost is the common
cause, but battering from rain and wind can also cause it. .

Hello Echinosum, many thanks for your reply. I started out with such
hopes for this Magnolia but I guess it could well be doomed - yes we've
had frost, heavy rain and yes its normal! But other Magnolias round
here flower at the same time and look healthy. I don't think mine is
particularly exposed and it's definitely not in a frost pocket. It IS
east facing but that means early morning sun. I wonder if it would be
worth covering it with fleece as the flower buds open? At least whilst
it is young enough to reach the top...



You've just hit the nail on the head, early morning sun on frosted
buds...fatal. They effectively freeze dry.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

On 27/3/08 15:37, in article , "Bob
Hobden" wrote:


"jay jay" wrote echinosum;780960 Wrote:
It's not disease, it's just weather damage, always a risk with magnolia
flowers, especially if they are early flowering. Frost is the common
cause, but battering from rain and wind can also cause it. .

Hello Echinosum, many thanks for your reply. I started out with such
hopes for this Magnolia but I guess it could well be doomed - yes we've
had frost, heavy rain and yes its normal! But other Magnolias round
here flower at the same time and look healthy. I don't think mine is
particularly exposed and it's definitely not in a frost pocket. It IS
east facing but that means early morning sun. I wonder if it would be
worth covering it with fleece as the flower buds open? At least whilst
it is young enough to reach the top...



You've just hit the nail on the head, early morning sun on frosted
buds...fatal. They effectively freeze dry.

Ditto Camellias, just for information.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

Sacha wrote:
On 27/3/08 10:08, in article
, "Jeff Layman"
wrote:

Sacha wrote:

At a guess, rain, wind and cold, if you've been getting all those.
Magnolias don't like cold wind on the developing buds. Two years
ago we lost all the buds on our M. campbellii to frost.

What a shame! It's not exactly the magnolia most keen to get into
flowering mode, either. How many years have you had it?

This M. Campbellii was quite keen to get going, in fact. Ray planted
it about 16 years ago (he thinks) and this is its third or fourth
year of flowering, including the one when it lost all the buds.

That seems early, although it would depend on how old it was when he planted
it. ISTR reading somewhere that it can take 25 - 30 years from seed to
flower.

Frost damage can hit any magnolia. I'm feeling pretty smug at the moment,
as my stellatas are always very slow, and everyone else's always flower
before mine. Well, it happened again this year, but all those other
stellatas are now just a brown mess, and the buds on mine have only just
started to open. Oh, well, one year in every 6 or so is probably worth
waiting for...

--
Jeff
(cut "thetape" to reply)