Saucer Magnolia, Magnolia x soulangeana, is very popular in these parts, and for good reason. The open form and early-blooming, large, pink blossoms of this southern beauty make it a traffic stopper. These assets can also be liabilities. Open can also be interpreted leggy, and early can be construed to mean frost-prone. As often as not a cold snap in pre-spring can ruin their brief display. As was the case in eastern Oklahoma’s December, 2007 ice storm, leggy can quickly turn this attractive little tree into splinters. All the same, the Saucer Magnolia is beautiful this time of year. Many, it would seem, believe it is worth the risks involved.
The little jewel featured in this week’s F.F.P is a near relative, the Star Magnolia, Magnolia stellata. Maybe better described as a large shrub than a small tree, the Star Magnolia sports all of the charm of its leggier cousin without any of its drawbacks. Blooming over a longer period, a hard frost may sully the portion of double blossoms presently open, but more will appear soon. I especially enjoy the unfolding drama of this particular blossom: First the fuzzy fat buds, that begin to slowly swell, it seems as soon as the leaves drop in fall. Then the buds peek out pink, followed by a near-white mop-headed double flower. Yes, and then the flower fades and dies. . .
But then there are more of these little dramas overlapping for a couple of weeks, and then there are the cluster of Blue Stars that emerge all around the base of our little tree-shrub. Even our little star’s summer cloak is a feast to the eyes with its leathery leaves; though not glossy, like that of the Southern Magnolia. It never looks stressed, even in the driest of summers.
The genus Magnolia was named after the french botanist Pierre Magnol, who lived from 1638-1715.
