Beautiful plants rockman! When you bring your jasmine in for the winter is it placed in southern window? Very healthy vigorous growth, how often do you have to repot? What size did it start out as?

The Southern Magnolia is just gorgeous! Can you tell me what the latin name of the variety you are growing and what zone it is supposed to be hardy to?

I purchased the jasmine about 6 years ago. It has never been repotted. It is still growing on its original trellis (which you can't see because of the thick growth), so it is only slightly larger than when I bought it. In winter, it sits in front of a large patio door that faces south, so it receives abundant afternoon sun. By early spring, it has already started to push new foliage and blossoms indoors. In early May, I put it back out on the patio (full sun). I prune it hard--almost to the point where very little foliage remains. I then fertilize it liberally with osmocote and give it plently of water. In about 4 weeks, it comes back beautifully with much thicker foliage and denser blossoms than it had before I pruned it. I usually bring it back indoors in October just before the first frost. Again, this procedure has worked for me for 6 years.

The southern magnolia is Magnolia Grandiflora, variety Braken Brown Beauty (BBB). There are only two varieties that can grow in southern New England. The BBB and another one called "Edith Bogue". I prefer the more dense habit of the BBB. The only problem is that the branches are a bit floppy and can break with heavy snow. Edith Bogue has a more open habit and a much more stiff branching habit. So, I keep my BBB tightly pruned to achieve the dense and narrow habit shown in the pic. This prevents snow damage, and also constrains the tree to the relatively small space I have to grow it. It is about 15 feet tall. The two varieties I mentioned above are hardy to zone 6. But, if you want it to thrive (not just survive), I would try to pick a spot that is sheltered from strong NW winds in winter. Mine is well sheltered in that way, but it does receive FULL winter sun, which can be damaging to broadleaved evergreens during tough winters. So, I do give it a coating of wilt-pruf in early winter to help prevent that. Last winter, I only had a few slightly burned leaves. The coldest temperature that my tree has experienced is -7 degrees during that horrible/bitter January of 2004. There was some leaf damage/loss after that winter, but not much.

Great job on the pruning and care of these plants. You really know what you are doing. They look so healthy and vigorous. Whatever pruning you are doing is excellent. I would have a hard time with that part of their care. Pruning is not one of my strengths.[g]

I have wanted a Magnolia for awhile. This is the first time I have seen one growing in Massachusetts that looks that good. I will have to look up both those cultivars of Magnolia. I love the fullness of your magnolia. I am not as far south as you are but I am in zone 6..maybe 6a not 6b. I think I will prefer the fullness of your cultivar but I am not sure where I could plant one that would be sheltered. I am pretty sure that all the locations I could put one would have that NW wind blowing from right behind it. What area of your yard did you plant it in? It looks like it is on the side of your house.

I am very impressed with your plants and I would be thrilled if I had as much success with one of my gardening projects. I hope you will enjoy them for a long time to come. :-)

pm2

I am located on the far south coast of Massachusetts. So, I am in sort of the "banana belt" as far as winter is concerned in New England. In addition, I have a patio area that is on the south side of my condo with two high privacy fences on the east and west side of the patio. The magnolia is planted in front of the privacy fence on the west side of the patio. Thus, it is completely blocked from N and NW winds in winter, with the patio open only to the south. So my patio is a warm microclimate in an area with relatively mild winters--which I think gives me that extra measure of protection that allows my tree to remain lush and vigorous. Haskell's Nursery in New Bedford has a moderately sized Edith Bogue that has been growing for many many years. It is in a very exposed spot and they don't protect it in any way. It seems to do just fine for them. You should check it out because I have read that the Edith Bogue is actually more hardy than the variety I am growing. So, if you have a more exposed location for your tree, then that might be the way to go. Good Luck!

I also have a patio to the south with fence on the south and east side but not the west. It is a little shadier there also, with large maples to the east and west but not the south. But the Edith Bogue sounds like that might be something I could find a place for without worrying about it as much. Haskell's is about an hour and a half south of me so I am sure they are warmer where they are than I am..but I will call them and ask about it.

Thanks very much and again...thanks for posting your photos they were really inspiring. :-)

Beautiful, rockman. I've had southern magnolia on my short list for awhile now - I have lots of other, hardier types but haven't tried one of these. They are so striking, and BBB is aptly named; it's a real beauty.

I planted a Southern magnolia in the fall and it didn"t fair as well as I would have liked. It's about 12' tall but the bottom third of the tree dropped a lot of leaves. can the lower branches be pruned back a bit to force new growth, or would that not work?

New leaves are starting at the end of the lower branches, but they are bare all the way back to the leader stem. And should I rough this year out and prune in late winter/early spring or can I do some light pruning now. Any pruning advice would be appreciated. Thanks for the help

You can prune back any branch to force new growth. I do that to keep my tree tight so that it better withstands the weight of heavy wet snow in winter. The southern magnolia does flower on both old and new growth apparently. So, if you prune in early spring, you will be cutting off some potential blossoms. I don't think a light pruning now will do the plant any harm. You might also want to fertilize with Hollytone to help give it some vigor.