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Magnolia Soulange is a small tree that invariably catches the eye during the flowering period. This culture is strongly associated with southern nature, so many gardeners believe that it is impossible to grow it in a colder climate. With the right choice of variety and certain conditions in latitudes with cold winters, you can get a surprisingly beautiful tree.
Description Magnolias Sulanza
Sulange variety is one of the most spectacular varieties of magnolias. Depending on the subspecies, Sulange magnolia is a tree or shrub 2–10 m in height with a loose spherical crown. Sulange magnolia is characterized by a short trunk with branches growing almost from the ground itself. The leaf plate is light green, large, matte, smooth on the surface, pubescent on the underside. Leaves fall off in autumn.
This variety is characterized by moderate winter hardiness, which increases with the age of the plant. At very low winter temperatures, flower buds sometimes freeze slightly, but this does not affect the health of the tree.
Another advantage of the variety is its resistance to environmental pollution, thanks to which the plant can be used for landscaping large cities and planted on the territory of industrial enterprises.
How magnolia Sulange blooms
Sulange magnolia blooms incredibly spectacular: in April or May, even before the foliage appears, large flowers bloom on the tree up to 25 cm in diameter with a pleasant aroma. The corollas of flowers of this variety are cup-shaped or goblet-shaped, and can be white, pink or red. There is also a two-tone color. Sulange magnolia blooms abundant and long, begins at a young age.
Types and varieties of Magnolia Sulange
Magnolia varieties Soulangeana (Soulangeana) was obtained by the French breeder Etienne Soulange as a result of crossing Nude and Lily-colored magnolia varieties. Now about 20 forms of this plant have been bred, differing in the appearance of flowers, the shape of the crown and other characteristics.
Alexandrina
The Sulange Alexandrina magnolia tree grows to a height of up to 6 m with a crown width of about 4 m. The variety is valuable in large – up to 15 cm – odorless flowers with a double color: inside the petals are white, outside are dark pink, almost purple. Flowers bloom in early May at the same time as the foliage. Sulanga Alexandrina magnolia has a very abundant, but short – up to 3 weeks – flowering.
Galaxy
The tree of this variety has a straight trunk and a pyramidal, narrow crown shape. Magnolia Sulange Galaxy blooms in late spring with purple or rich red fragrant flowers. Flowering is long, plentiful. This tree looks best in small gardens.
dream princess
Magnolia Sulange Princess of Dreams is a small, up to 5 m, shrub that blooms in the second half of spring. The corolla is very large, up to 25 cm in diameter, and can be goblet or cup-shaped. Inside the petals are white, outside the color can be red, pink, purple or pink with white stripes. Abundant flowering, unusual coloring, delicate aroma and unusual size of flowers make this variety incredibly attractive.
Alba Superba
The magnolia tree Sulange Alba Superba reaches a height of 4 m. The variety is distinguished by large flowers of especially delicate colors: the pink shade at the base of the corolla is replaced by pure white. Flowers are goblet shaped. Abundantly white flowers bloom even before the leaves appear, in April, but even later, against the background of bright green young foliage, they look very picturesque.
Rustica Rubra
A variety of magnolia Sulange Rustica Rubra is a tree or shrub with a wide crown, reaching a height of 7 m. It feels good in warm sunny areas, prefers moist fertile soils. The variety blooms with large goblet flowers of a rounded shape. Outside, the corolla is painted in red-pink color, inside – in delicate white with pink. Flowering begins in the second half of spring, when the branches are not yet covered with leaves.
Linnaeus
This subspecies is particularly winter hardy and slow growing. Compact, no more than 2 – 3 m tall shrub that blooms in late spring. Dark purple buds open into large flowers that are white on the inside. The flower petals of this variety are convex, fleshy.
Jenny
The magnolia bush of the Jenny variety is narrow, compact, reaches a height of about 3 m and a width of 1,5 m. It has surprisingly beautiful flowers resembling a tulip, an unusual dark ruby red color for the varieties of this culture. Flowering begins in April and lasts for several weeks. Often at the end of summer there is a repeated flowering, which is almost no different from spring in abundance.
Andre Leroy
Magnolia variety Sulange Andre Leroy is a small spreading tree up to 4 m high. It blooms in late spring with elongated flowers of medium size with a delicate delicate smell. Corollas are bright, pink-purple, extremely picturesque look both at the beginning of flowering on bare branches, and after the appearance of foliage.
Methods of reproduction
The easiest way to propagate a shrub is vegetatively: cuttings, layering and grafting, but Sulange magnolia can also be grown from seeds.
When cutting, temperature and humidity are very important. Young trees obtained in this way can be planted in a permanent place only after a year.
Getting new plants with layering is very easy. One or more lower branches of the mother bush are fixed on the soil and added dropwise, which stimulates the formation of roots. After a maximum of 2 years, the young plant can be separated from the main bush.
Reproduction of Sulange magnolia by grafting is a relatively simple method, but it requires some training and knowledge of technology. It consists in the stock of a kidney of the desired species to a tree of a different variety. As a rule, amateur gardeners rarely use this method.
Sowing seeds is done in the fall. The prepared seed material is sown in boxes and cleaned in a cold place, in the spring they take it out and carefully look after the emerging shoots.
Planting and caring for Sulange magnolia
Regardless of the chosen variety of Sulange magnolia, the beauty and health of plants depends on proper planting and proper care for them.
Recommended dates
Magnolia varieties Sulange are planted in early spring or autumn. Many gardeners argue that it is preferable to plant it in October rather than April, as there is a risk of frost returning in the spring. If sap flow has already begun in a young seedling, even short-term frosts can severely damage.
Site selection and preparation of soil
Magnolia is a southern plant, therefore it prefers well-lit areas without drafts. However, direct sunlight should be avoided on the shrub, especially on a young seedling. The culture does not tolerate stagnant moisture; low-lying swampy areas or areas with a high, less than 1,2 m from the surface, groundwater occurrence are unsuitable for it. From an aesthetic point of view, Sulange magnolia is best placed separately from other plantings to emphasize its beauty.
The soil for magnolias should be fertile, loose, well permeable to water and air. Sandy and loamy soils with acidity close to neutral or slightly acidic are well suited. If the magnolia is to be planted in limed soil, then during the autumn digging, sour peat is added to it.
Soil preparation consists in digging spacious planting pits, with a volume 2 to 3 times the size of the seedling’s root ball. A mixture of soddy soil, sand and peat or compost is laid out at the bottom.
How to plant Sulange magnolia
For planting, it is better to choose a seedling with a closed root system. The landing procedure is as follows:
- the plant is placed in the center of the prepared pit and covered with a pre-prepared substrate, periodically compacting the soil;
- the top layer of soil is left loose;
- the seedling is thoroughly watered with warm water;
- after a while, when the soil around the plant settles, they fill up the soil so that moisture does not accumulate around the trunk.
The distance between plantings is calculated depending on the characteristics of the variety, taking into account that mature trees do not shade each other. Usually magnolia seedlings are not placed closer than 2-3 m from each other.
Growing rules
If a suitable place is chosen for the Sulange variety magnolia and the planting is carried out in accordance with all the rules, further care of the plant is not particularly difficult. Young plants need more attention for several years after planting, but with age they become more hardy and unpretentious.
Watering
The shrub is very sensitive to soil moisture, especially the first few years after planting. On hot days, the near-stem circles should not be allowed to dry out, but in general, watering should be plentiful and frequent. It is usually enough to irrigate the soil every other day. You should use warm, preferably rain, water for this. On especially hot days, crown sprinkling is used.
Additional fertilizing
Young magnolia begin to fertilize from the age of three. They do this twice a year: in the spring, when the plant is preparing for the growing season, and in the first half of summer. You can use ready-made complexes for magnolia, or you can prepare fertilizer based on cow dung by mixing it with urea and ammonium nitrate.
It should be remembered that excessive fertilizer is harmful to the plant.
Trimming
Magnolia does not need formative pruning, but in early spring it is necessary to remove all dry, damaged and frozen branches, as well as branches that bend inside the crown. The place of cuts must be treated with garden pitch.
Preparation for winter
Sulange magnolia trees and shrubs are frost-resistant, some varieties easily tolerate winter temperatures down to -30 ° C, so they are easy to grow in the middle lane, for example, in the Moscow region. Only young trees need shelter for the winter for the first few seasons after planting.
To protect plantings from frost, trunk circles are mulched with spruce branches, sawdust or straw, and the plant itself is covered with burlap. They take shelter at a stable positive air temperature.
Pests and diseases
The Sulange magnolia variety is resistant to diseases and pests, however, this crop can also have health problems.
Chlorosis can be suspected by the appearance of yellow leaves with green veins. It occurs due to the high content of lime in the soil. You can cope with this disease by acidifying the soil with peat.
In hot weather magnolia can be affected by spider mites that feed on its juices. To combat them, acaricides are used.
Rodents and moles are not specific pests of this crop, they can harm any tree. So that they do not settle in the roots of plants, with the onset of the first frosts, the tree trunks are covered, then in winter the plantings will not be damaged. Moles are helped by special ultrasonic repellers.
Conclusion
Magnolia Soulange is still an infrequent guest in the gardens of central Our Country. Its popularity began to grow only recently. However, a large number of hybrids of this variety, unpretentiousness and relatively simple agricultural technology will allow every gardener to grow this amazing southern tree on his site.