Rare trees for your garden
Sometimes native plants are tough to find! We'd love any leads
on this one:
Do you happen to know a source for (that bigleaf
magnolia you showed in issue #171) Magnolia
macrophylla 'Whopper'? I have a perfect place for it. I
appreciate the warning about the falling leaves in fall, it is the
sort of thing we just don't think of in the excitement of seeing
something new. - C.V. -
Glad to hear we're giving you useful information, and happy to
put you on the hunt, but sorry to say we have no source for that
variety. There are so many plant species and varieties that no one
can carry them all. As they go in and out of vogue, they also
rotate out of production.
Keep an eye on the market through one of our
favorite plant source databases, Minnesota Landscape
Arboretum's plant finder. Not every nursery is included but oh so
many are.
You might contact some growers of the species M.
macrophylla to arrange a special order. We've known the
folks at Gossler Farms and Greer
Gardens (both listed in that database as bigleaf magnolia
growers) to do some special growing. It all starts with a request
such as, "If you have a stock plant of 'Whopper', would you care to
start one for me?"
Did you know...
That the bigleaf magnolia (M. macrophylla), native from Maryland, southern Ohio and Kentucky on
down to the Gulf Coast, is endangered in Arkansas and Ohio, and
threatened in Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia?
If growing an endangered species makes you nervous, do your
homework before you select a site. Site is the critical element in
any plant's welfare.
At http://www.treetrail.net, which exists:
"to assist people who want to help preserve these rare (native
tree) species by growing them on their own properties or other
suitable locations in their communities"
we're admonished to:
"Give this plant moist well-drained soil, and water it during
droughts. A mulch will help keep the soil moist. If possible, put
it in a sheltered spot where strong winds are less likely to shred
the leaves."