IRISH GARDENING 



VOLUME XIII 

 No. 147 



Editor J- W. Besant 



A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE 



ADVANCEMENT OF HORTICULTURE AND 



ARBORICULTURE IN IRELAND 



MAY 

 1918 



Japanese Magnolias* 



13y Sir John Eoss of Bladensbuhg. 





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'J"uu];k (leeiduoiis Aiugnolias, ^i. Ivubus, M. 

 salicifolia, and M. steilata, natives oi Japan, 

 deserve a short notice at the present moment, 

 for, producing numerous pure white flowers 

 in A])ril before the leaves appear, they form 

 hcaiitiful objects in the early spring. The last- 

 named Avas introduced about forty years ago, 

 and seems to be better known and more usually 

 planted than in the case with the other two 

 species. Of easy culture, it grows rather slowly 

 into a large bush, and is very floriferous, shoM- 

 ing its bloom even when quite small ; the petals 

 arc mmierous, giving the appearance of a semi- 

 (l()ul)le flower, w'hich is some five inches in 

 diameter. The best specimen I have seen is 

 at Bitton Vicarage, near Bristol, planted by 

 tlie late Canon Ellacombe. and it was, when I 

 saw it some years ago, I should think more 

 than 10 or 12 feet high, and quite as much 

 tlnoiigh. 



-M . salicifolia was only brought to this 

 country twelve or thirteen years ago, and has 

 the habit of a small and slender tree, which 

 is said to attain to the height of from 15 to 

 20 feet. It is a most desirable species, but as 

 it is comparatively new to cultivation, we 

 have not yet been able to appreciate its full 

 value. I got some small plants direct from 

 Yokohama in 1905, and one of them is now 

 some 10 feet high. In the early stages of its 

 growth it flowers rather sparingly, and as far 

 as I have seen, not so luxuriantly as M. 

 steilata ; but year by year the bloom increases 

 and looks remarkably well. The flowers, about 

 five inches across, are divided into six petals, 

 and owing to the very slender branchlets on 

 which they appear, they stand out conspicu- 



ously, like as if some huge butterflies of a 

 jieculiarly white colour were on the plant. 



M. Kobus, though known by name for 

 many years, does not seem to have been intro- 

 duced before 1879. For some reason or othei' 

 it has not attracted as much attention as it 

 api)eHrs to me to deserve. It is possible that 

 it does not grow so well in England as it does 

 in Ireland, if one may judge from ]\Ir. Bean's 

 suggestion that at any rate when young, it is 

 one of the least attractive of Magnolias ("Trees 

 and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles," II., 

 p. 71). I hardly think that this remark does 

 justice to this magnificent species, which in 

 Ja})an becomes a great flowering tree of from 

 70 to 80 feet in height. The plant here, ob- 

 tained in 1900, is now about 18 feet high, and 

 from the way it has grown, I think it likely 

 that it will eventually attain to a larger size. 

 The flowers are very similar to those tliat 

 adorn M. salicifolia, being of an intense white 

 colour, and some five inches in diameter: they 

 are divided into six petals (occasionally a 

 seventh is to be seen), andi the seeds are 

 bright red. It is a valuable addition to the 

 arboretum in flower, in leaf, and in fruit. Like 

 ]M. salicifolia in its very early infancy it is 

 slow to flower, but in a short time it produces 

 its blooms most freely and plentifully, and is in 

 fact quite as floriferous as M. steilata. If it 

 becomes a large tree in this country, which I 

 believe will be the case, it will be a sight sel- 

 dom to be seen. Like the other two species, 

 it is quite hardy, and should, I think, be 

 better known at all events by those in Ireland 

 who can plant flowering trees in their 

 woods. 



