Magnolia Sulange: variety description, planting and care, use in landscape design
Magnolia is an ancient plant that has been growing since the age of the dinosaurs. Magnolia Sulange was bred at the beginning of the 19th century by the French breeder E. Soulange-Bode as a result of crossing 2 magnolias: lily-colored and naked. She was loved by landscape designers and gardeners for the variety of varieties, early beautiful and abundant flowering.
Botanical description
The height of Sulange magnolia, depending on the variety, varies from 2 to 8 meters. It grows as a deciduous tree (in the south) or a shrub (in the north). Its branches begin to grow at the very base of the earth, forming a low-set rounded or pyramidal crown.The light green leaves of the plant are smooth on top and pubescent below.
Large (up to 25 centimeters in diameter) goblet or cup-shaped inflorescences are the main decoration of the magnolia. In color, they are white, purple, white-pink, red, and can also be two-tone. They open in April-May, at a time when the foliage of other trees and shrubs is just beginning to bloom. Inedible fruits ripen at the end of September.
Classification
Magnolia Sulange includes more than 2 dozen varieties. Description of the most decorative ones:
- Alba Superba - the plant reaches a height of 3-5 meters. Large green leaves turn yellow in autumn. Delicate white inflorescences bloom in early May before the foliage appears. They look like tulips and emit a pleasant aroma.
- Alexandrina - a feature of this variety in a sprawling crown. Goblet pink-purple large (up to 15 centimeters in diameter) flowers bloom in May at the same time as the leaves.
- Lennei is a slow growing magnolia bush reaching a height of 5-6 meters. Inflorescences are large, dark purple on the outside. In this variety, the branches do not freeze even in severe frosts.
Important! In order not to be disappointed with the result, it is necessary to purchase planting material in nurseries or from trusted sellers.
Growing details
Many gardeners believe that Sulange magnolia is tender and capricious, and do not plant it on their plots. But if you choose the right place for it, care for it in accordance with its requirements, the culture will respond with the flowering of beautiful, fragrant buds.
How to choose a landing site
The right place for planting is one of the main conditions for the growth and development of magnolia. The culture should be planted in a territory protected from the wind and midday rays of the sun.The older the magnolia, the less sensitive it is to bright sunlight, but it does not tolerate transplantation well, so it must be planted immediately in a permanent place.
Pit preparation and soil requirements
The soil in which magnolia is planted should be light, loose, neutral or slightly acidic. It is made up of the following components: garden soil, rotted manure, compost, peat, sand, wood ash. Planting a seedling is done as follows:
- digging a hole with a diameter exceeding 2 times the size of the plantation root system;
- drainage is laid on its bottom with a layer of 15-20 centimeters, consisting of broken bricks, expanded clay, small pebbles.
- a layer of sand wakes up on top of the drainage (up to 15 centimeters), then the prepared substrate;
- a plant is planted in the center of the pit.
The surface of the trunk circle is slightly rammed, watered abundantly.
Fit features
Since the roots of Sulange magnolia are shallow, superficial, the ground around it must be mulched with peat, and then with the bark of coniferous trees. It is better to plant plants in autumn: during this period they are in relative rest, which contributes to their rapid survival and good wintering.
Advice! The seedling in the container is first moistened with water, and then removed and planted in the ground together with a lump.
Magnolia Care Tips
If the requirements for caring for the plant are observed, it will delight others with its decorative appearance for a long time and there will be no need to take emergency measures to save it.
Water and fertilize
Magnolia Sulange - moisture-loving plantation. Young seedlings aged 1-3 years are especially in need of systematic watering. The soil is moistened with warm water, while it is necessary to ensure that it is not constantly wet.
2 years after planting, the plant begins to feed. Nutrition with a complex of mineral fertilizers contributes to the development of magnolia, reduces the harmful effects of negative weather factors. The procedure is carried out at the end of July: starting from August, the plant begins to enter a state of rest and it no longer needs to be fed.
Loosening the soil
Magnolia roots are located close to the surface of the soil, so it must be carefully loosened. The depth of tillage is 2-3 cm. It is better to use a pitchfork for this, as other garden tools can injure the roots. The resulting weeds are removed manually.
Mulching
To retain moisture in the soil, to prevent the growth of weeds, and also to less injure the root system, the magnolia root circle is mulched. To do this, use peat, sawdust, bark of coniferous trees, straw. They cover the ground in the spring, update the mulch during the season. Her permanent layer is 5 centimeters.
Cutting
In the spring, broken, dried, diseased branches are removed. If young branches are damaged by frost, they are cut back to he althy parts. In addition, they cut out the branches that interfere with the development of each other: the weaker ones are removed. So that harmful microorganisms do not get into the sections, they are treated with garden pitch.
Preparing for winter season
Autumn care consists in sheltering young seedlings under the age of 3 years for the winter. To do this, after the onset of stable frosts, the soil is covered with a layer of mulch, and the trunk and skeletal branches are wrapped with agrofiber.Small bushes can be completely wrapped with covering material. As soon as a steady thaw sets in in the spring, the shelter is removed.
Additional information. For magnolia, winter warming is dangerous: the buds that begin to wake up will be destroyed by the subsequent frost.
Protection from diseases and pests
Although Sulange magnolia is rarely exposed to the harmful effects of the environment, some diseases and pests can still overcome it:
- Chlorosis. With this disease, the leaves of the plant turn yellow, and the veins remain green. This is due to excess lime in the soil. To save magnolia from misfortune, the soil is acidified with peat, earth taken from under coniferous trees.
- Spider mite. He settles on the leaves, from which he sucks the juices, as a result of which they turn yellow and fall off. To get rid of a harmful insect, magnolia is sprayed with any of the acaricides.
- Rodents. Underground pests gnaw the roots and stems of the plant at the very base. The affected parts are treated with garden pitch. To protect the magnolia from various rodents, it is covered only after the onset of frost: in such conditions, pests cannot build nests and damage plantings.
In addition, magnolia soulangeana can be affected by fungal diseases. Most often this happens due to an excess of moisture. Treating the plant with any fungicide will help get rid of the scourge. From bacterial spot disease, magnolia is sprayed with copper-containing preparations.
Methods of reproduction
Under natural conditions, magnolia is propagated by seeds, at home - for this, vegetative parts of the plant are used, and cuttings, breeding by layering, and grafting are used. The most common way to get a young seedling at home is cuttings.For this you need:
- cut cuttings of two-year-old shoots in summer;
- dip their bottom ends in growth stimulator powder;
- plant in loose, light soil, water;
- cover the pot with cuttings with a film to establish greenhouse conditions under which they quickly form roots.
Propagation by layering is another common way to get a young magnolia bush at home. To do this, the lower branches are bent to the ground, pinned, sprinkled with earth. The place of contact of the shoot with the ground must be constantly moistened. A year later, the rooted cutting is dug up and transplanted to a permanent place in the garden.
Landscape use
Magnolia Sulange is a rather large planting, so it will look good in single plantings against the backdrop of a lawn.Under the canopy of its crown, shade-loving plants can be placed: hostas, creeping conifers, ferns. In addition, the bushes are grown in tubs, which, if necessary, are moved to the right place for decoration.
Note. A potted plant will tolerate transplanting outdoors well throughout the season.
Growing Sulange magnolia is easy, you only need to take into account the superficial location of its roots, as well as the fact that at a young age it does not tolerate the midday sun. Taking care of her during the season, the gardener will be able to admire the beautiful flowering of the plant in early spring, at a time when many plants are just starting flower buds.
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