What do you see on your garden walks?

[McDonough]

I really must add Magnolia virginiana to my garden, there are a number of good forms.  Never makes a big floral impression but the flowers are lovely, fragrant, and appear over a long and late season.  I meant to post photos earlier in the year of my first flowering on Magnolia sieboldii - Korean form (grown from Magnolia Society seed, I believe in their 4th or 5th year from seed).  Flowers started the end of May and kept on coming all through June.  Wonderful fragrance and pristine blooms.

[RickR]

That's really a beautiful form, Mark.  Flowers are more upright than any of the ones I have seen.  And doubly awesome, considering they are maiden flowers!  It seems quite precocious, too.

My Magnolia sieboldii flowers are completely pendent.

          

[Hoy]

Mark, I have never really considered to try magnolia from seed. However after seeing your plants I've got courage to try!
I bought 4-5 specimens in the fall sale and hope for at least some flowers

We have had some very bad weather recently. Last night a hailstorm from northwest made it difficult to sleep. However no damage in my garden and no frost yet except one night down to -0.7C. But the weather forecast says snow next week

Some plants have set out on an early spring growth. Leucojum vernum is not native in Norway but has been used here as a garden plant in 1k years! Erica carnea is not that old as a garden plant but is completely hardy and starts blooming with the first sun in winter. And of course the hellebores, always some in flower All pictures taken today.

[Tim Ingram]

The Magnolia flowers are truly exquisite! We grew a batch of seed from Jim Archibald of sieboldii and I was amazed how quickly they started to flower, having heard tales of how so many can take decades to reach flowering size. A friend has been growing campbellii (or a hybrid) in his garden for some 15 years and is excited by the first signs of flower buds this autumn.

[RickR]

Magnolia seed does not have to be kept moist like an ehemeral, but they don't like to be dried out too much either.  They say it is best to remove the pulp, but in my one experience growing M. sieboldii from seed from my tree: about 100 seeds gave 100% germination (I think) with natural cold stratification and without pulp removed.

[McDonough]

Our local Magnolia guru, Stephen Cover (runs the Magnolia Society seed exchange) gives directions for Magnolia seed.  He suggests soaking the seed in water for several days to a week, to soften up the fleshy outer cover.  The water gets plenty putrid, so best to change the water a couple times.  Then squish the big black seed out, like pitting olives, a messy job.  Towel dry the seed, then store in zip-lock baggies with sphagnum and just a hint of moisture, put them in your vegetable drawer in the fridge for the winter.  When weather has warmed up in spring after most danger of frost, sow, water, leave the flats outside, and they come up quickly, they don't need any stratification (tho' it could be that stratification doesn't hurt).  I do get a few self sown Magnolia as well (rare), so I don't know whether the pulp truly needs to be removed or not.

Rick, I didn't get seed on my young M. sieboldii, but when I do some year, I'll try an experiment sowing with and without de-pulping.  It is interesting that you get such strong germination without removing the pulp.  Most M. sieboldii trees I have seen in person, have had pendant flowers... nice to have them look straight out on this Korean form.

Tim, I have other Magnolia trees grown from seed or bought as young whips, and years have gone by without any bud set, even though the trees are getting big; so I was indeed pleased to get buds on little M. sieboldii plants so quickly.

[RickR]

 He suggests soaking the seed in water for several days to a week...then store in zip-lock baggies with sphagnum and just a hint of moisture, put them in your vegetable drawer in the fridge for the winter.

--- This IS cold stratification. 
Most of the time, the method is to place dry seed in a moist medium for a cold period, during which time the seed absorbs moisture and does its chemical transformations.  Since the magnolia seeds have already imbibed all the water they will take, they need only be kept from dehydrating while in the fridge.

[McDonough]

 He suggests soaking the seed in water for several days to a week...then store in zip-lock baggies with sphagnum and just a hint of moisture, put them in your vegetable drawer in the fridge for the winter.

--- This IS cold stratification. 
Most of the time, the method is to place dry seed in a moist medium for a cold period, during which time the seed absorbs moisture and does its chemical transformations.  Since the magnolia seeds have already imbibed all the water they will take, they need only be kept from dehydrating while in the fridge.

Thanks Rick, I had assumed stratification referred to actually freezing the seed in some medium to simulate winter conditions, but that's not necessarily the case, I'm embarrassed to admit . 

In the following link, Southern Magnolia (M. grandiflora) is mentioned, with the suggestion to remove the pulp, with moist pre-chilling period of 2-4 months.
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8704.html
The seed germinates like beans in a week or two in the spring.

[RickR]

indeed.  I have only had one experience growing any magnolia seed.  Hardly anything to make an assumption about.  Just sayin'.

For the benefit of all:
Actual freezing is not part of cold stratification.  The whole point of cold seed stratification is to allow chemical processes that only occur (or occur efficiently) at cold temperatures, to go forward.  Within the seed, these processes remove their associated chemical inhibitions to germination so the seed can subsequently sprout.  Even Dr. Deno could never say what that exact best temperature is, only that it is about 40F (4C).   When a seed is frozen, the chemical processes that are triggered at these temperatures stop.

  It is interesting to note that often distributions of a species in very cold areas need less stratification time than the same species from a warmer region.  This is because a much greater percentage of the species northern distribution's winter is in a frozen state, when the stratification processes are halted.  Therefore, even though the winter is longer, the usable stratification temperatures occur only in the fall-to-winter and winter-to-spring intervals - resulting in a much shorter cumulative time frame. 

Contrast this with the warmer climate, where the ground may hardly freeze at all: cold temperatures hover above freezing for a much longer time period, through most of the winter.  The species phenotype native here, would adapt to requiring a longer cold stratification interval to match its climate.

[Lori S.]

--- This IS cold stratification. 
Most of the time, the method is to place dry seed in a moist medium for a cold period, during which time the seed absorbs moisture and does its chemical transformations.  Since the magnolia seeds have already imbibed all the water they will take, they need only be kept from dehydrating while in the fridge.

And to add to this, "stratification" (or "conditioning", which is the term Dr. Deno seems to prefer in his publications, in the sense of getting the seeds into the condition where germination can occur due to the breakdown of chemical inhibitors) may also begin with a warm period, followed by a cold period for some species, and sometimes repetition of the cycle is needed.  Dr. Deno's publications are fascinating reading!

[Tim Ingram]

A few alpines producing flowers rather early! Our autumn has been exceptionally long and mild, only just now beginning to get light frosts. Rather nice to see a gentian in December!

[Hoy]

Tim, are you sure it is early and not late blooming? I had liked to see a gentian here too at this time of the year!

Although we haven't had much frosts either not much are blooming. Instead everything is dripping wet and the soil is completely saturated.

[Fermi]

It's summer now and the asiatic lilies are in bloom.
Lilium "Giraffe"


Lilium "Tresor"


The Lilium longiflorum hybrid "Deliana"


cheers
fermi

[Hoy]

Summer it is still one week till the sun "turns". It is dark when I leave home in the morning and dark when I come home in the evening!
Still, nice to see your lilies, Fermi, reminds me that winter has an end.

[Fermi]

Summer it is still one week till the sun "turns".

Trond,
In Australia summer is decreed to start on December 1st!
 
cheers
fermi