Magnolia Susan: description and characteristics of the variety, planting and care with photo

Magnolia is an amazing plant that has survived even the era of dinosaurs. But even now, the culture continues to delight the eye with its magnificent colors. Susan magnolia is popular all over the world for its incredibly beautiful blooms.

Description and characteristics of Magnolia Susan

Magnolia Susan is a tree whose height reaches from 2.5 to 6.5 m. The shape of the tree is pyramidal, becoming rounded as it grows. Deep green foliage, large, thick and glossy.

Inflorescences grow up, blooming flowers are large, goblet-shaped.The diameter of the flower reaches about 15 cm. The inflorescence has six petals of a light pink hue. Blooming inflorescences are very fragrant. The flowering period begins in April and ends in June. The life expectancy of a tree is about 50 years. The variety was obtained by crossing lily-colored magnolia and stellate magnolia.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

The advantages of Magnolia Susanna variety include:

• large and beautiful flowers;
• tree lifespan;
• fragrance of flowers;
• unpretentiousness in cultivation and care.

The disadvantages include the fact that magnolia can only be grown in the south. The tree belongs to heat-loving crops and does not survive the frosty winters that occur in most regions.

Growing a plant

Growing magnolia is a pleasure. If you provide the plant with favorable growth conditions, you can enjoy beautiful and fragrant flowers for a long time.

What should the soil be like?

Magnolia does not like calcareous soil, so you will have to add peat to the soil if the site has such a substrate. Also, the tree is not recommended to be planted on a sandy type of soil. Sandy loamy fertile soil or black soil is suitable for planting.

What should I pay attention to when landing?

It is recommended to plant a plant in areas protected from strong winds. It is best to plant a seedling in a sunny area, which will regularly receive a shadow during the day. Before planting, it is undesirable to waterlog the soil. It is not recommended to plant a seedling in the spring. You can take the risk, but sudden spring frosts can kill the plant.

The most favorable period for planting is October. At this time, the magnolia begins a hibernation period, and the seedling tolerates planting more easily. The winter hardiness of the variety is low, so after planting, before the onset of cold weather, the seedling should be covered.

Fitting technology

Planting Magnolia variety Susana:

• dig the soil and mix it with wood ash;
• dig a hole 70 cm deep;
• put the seedling in the hole and bury;
• tamp the soil near the trunk.

At the end of planting, water the seedling abundantly with warm water. During planting, it is undesirable to deepen the root neck. It should be at least 2 cm above ground level. After watering, the seedling is mulched with peat.

Further crop care

Caring for a plant is not difficult. The main thing is not to forget about watering the tree and applying mineral fertilizers and organics. It is also important to think about sheltering the tree before winter sets in.

Correct watering

A feature of magnolia watering is that within 3 years after planting a seedling, it must be watered so that the soil is always wet and does not dry out. But at the same time, waterlogging of the soil should also not be allowed.

When the tree grows up, you can water it several times a month. The larger the tree, the more water it needs. For irrigation, they take water heated in the sun.

Before watering, you can loosen the soil, but this must be done carefully. The root system of a tree grows in such a way that all the roots are closer to the surface of the soil. In order not to damage the roots, the soil is loosened with a pitchfork.

What to fertilize and feed

In the first two years after planting, the seedling does not require fertilizer (provided that enough top dressing was applied to the soil at the time of planting). In the third year of growth, the substrate on which the tree grows is depleted, and fertilization is inevitable.

Suitable ready-made mineral complexes for flower bushes. You can also make your own food. For its preparation, urea and s altpeter are diluted in water (in a ratio of 20:15 g). The resulting solution is poured over the soil next to the plant.

Pruning the plant

Generally no formative pruning is required for magnolia bushes. In autumn, after the tree has faded, flower stalks and dry branches are cut off. Places of cuts are smeared with garden pitch so that the plant does not get sick. For trimming, a sharpened sector is used so that there are no creases at the cut points.

In the spring, sanitary pruning is not recommended so as not to damage the tree. During this period, active sap flow begins, and any pruning manipulations can only do harm.

Wintering

Magnolia belongs to heat-loving plants, and frosty winters are detrimental to a tree. Before the onset of cold weather, the lower part of the trunk is wrapped with a warm cloth. And the soil near the trunk is covered with spruce branches.

Diseases and pests

The most common insects on magnolia are aphids, spider mites, mealybugs. You can get rid of these insects on the plant by spraying with acaricides.

Another problem to face is rodents. If traces of mice appear on the bark, they are treated with a solution of "Fundazol". And when the soil freezes, it is mulched. This prevents the mice from reaching the roots and trunk.

Sometimes yellow spots may appear on the foliage - chlorosis. This problem arises due to the high lime content in the soil. To solve this problem, you need to add peat, soil from a coniferous forest to the soil, or water the earth with a special preparation that increases acidity.

Reproduction methods

There are several ways to propagate Magnolia Susan:

• cutting;
• seeds;
• layering.

If the plant is propagated by seed, then the material is planted immediately after harvest. Magnolia planting material is very poorly stored. The seed coat is very hard, so before planting, the side walls are cut off with sandpaper or simply pierced with a needle.

The surface of the planting material is covered with a thin oily layer, so before planting it is carefully washed off with warm water and soap. Then rinse in clean water.

Prepared seeds are planted in the ground to a depth of 3 cm. Magnolia boxes are removed to the basement. In March, they are taken out and placed on the windowsill, on the sunny side. For a year at home, the seedlings will grow by about 50 cm. Only after that, the seedlings are transplanted into the open ground.

When growing by cuttings, cuttings are cut at the end of June, when the tree fades. They are cut so that 3 full-fledged leaves remain on top. The lower part of the cutting is placed in a solution that activates growth. After that, the branches are planted in a mixture of peat and soil.

Cover boxes with cuttings and put in a warm place. The temperature at which roots appear on them is from +19 to + 21 degrees. After about 9 weeks, roots should appear. And in October, the cuttings are planted in the ground.

Another breeding method is layering. The lower branches in the spring are bent to the soil and buried. The thread needs to be secured with something. By autumn, layering will give roots. After a few years, they can be separated from the mother plant and transplanted.

Possible growing problems

Problems in Growing Magnolia Suzanne:

• Low soil acidity. The culture prefers to grow on land with high levels of acidity.
• With an excess of nutrients in the soil, the foliage becomes covered with yellow spots and dries. You can solve this problem by watering the plant abundantly once a week.
• It is not recommended to apply nitrogen in large quantities to the soil. This will increase the risk of freezing roots in winter.
• Do not allow the soil to dry out. This can lead to the appearance of spider mites on the tree.

Growing magnolia is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. The main thing is to follow all the recommendations for care, and then the tree will delight with its fragrant flowers for many years, because magnolia has been growing for almost half a century.

Application in landscape design

Susan's hybrid magnolia variety is very popular in landscape design, especially for embankments in seaside resorts. The tree looks great in an urban environment. When the magnolia enters its flowering period, it is impossible to look away from the tree.

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