by Amjad
(Amman,jordan )
Hello again Jacki,
as i promised you in July ,to let you know of my magnolia tree decision:
- i have just received M. Denudata seeds from Hong Kong,of to sub-types
they are wrapped in tight nylon isolator bags,10 of each type,with a leaflet
atttached ,to explain methods of sowing ,according to some code,DD,MD,etc..
the process is complicated and long,is it really that hard to start them or people
are trying to be extra cautious ??? they came with a couple of seeds of M. Soulangiana
as a gift,should we treat M. seeds all the same way??? can i start sowing in the summer or
autumn, or shall i wait till spring,shall i start in small flats,or start right away with 3-7 inch pots
to avoid early transplanting,, too many questions ,,,,,sorry????!!!!! - a few weeks ago i bought this nice M.Grandiflore, as an evergreen for the garden,
its 3 years old,and the local guy said that it did not bloom yet,it should next year,
the price was good, so i took it, ……..attached is a photo of a leaf from this tree,
it has a dozen of this on it,the guy said its from under watering from the caring staff,
is it so , or would think of some disease, or additives??? - we are having now a heat damp wave, is it still enough to water it twice weekly ??
thank you jacki,for making gardening easier……
Amjad
Hi Amjad, phew, you’re right – a lot of questions!
For the seeding, yes, sometimes it’s more complicated than it needs to be, but that is just to ensure that you will have some success. Over the years, people have taken notes on what works and what to avoid doing, so if they give you specific instructions, you should try to follow them.
For the timing, generally, seeds germinate best in the spring.
Magnolia may or may not need a cold stratification period, depending on the species; most probably will be fine without it, but if they germinate now (August) they may not put on enough growth to make it through the winter.
Even though your winters may not be that cold, the plants still go into dormancy, correct? So that means the brand new seedlings will stall and possibly not be able to grow any more, even when they’ve successfully gone through a winter.
I would say that you can treat all the Magnolia species the same way.
Keep in mind that following the instructions to the letter does not necessarily mean success; the age of the seeds, when they were collected, how they were stored, if they were even pollinated all have a bearing on viability.
So, for the Magnolia leaves, that definitely could be caused by improper watering, especially if they were using overhead sprinklers (which should be banned!) in very hot temperatures.
As for how often to water it, you are the best judge of the climate; trying to keep the soil damp at all times might be difficult, but if it’s very hot and dry at the same time (ie; windy) then you may need to water more often.
It also depends on the soil that they used to pot it up, the size of the container, the size of the plant, and how long it’s been in that container. As you see, there are many variables. Isn’t horticulture fun?
Hope that helps,
Jacki
