Some people are good at being historians. Some are more like me and not all that diligent. I tend to pick up small items from nature to remind me of memorable places or events. I won’t save concert tickets from a special date because they are man-made and flimsy, but I will save a shell or a fancy pebble.
Looking back at my life, I think keeping written histories of special events is a good thing that I have ignored. I can’t tell you how many times my adult children have asked me to fill in the details of an event in their history and I find myself wondering if I have the story telling right these many years later.
My second husband, (of only seven years) chose to remember a very poignant episode of his life with a 150lb granite memorial stone. (He has a big, over-the-top personality, I guess he needs big, over-the-top memorials, too.) Early in our relationship, he told me about sitting in a funeral home in Magnolia, Texas making plans for the burial of his only adult son. Looking outside he saw several large, beautiful magnolia trees on the grounds. The trees were in full bloom. The multitude of “magnolias” in that moment, plus the memory that Magnolias were one of his son’s favorite trees, made him feel like he needed to memorialize that moment with the planting of a magnolia tree and a stone to explain why the tree was there.
But the story doesn’t end there. As it turned out a young tree may not be an adequate memorial to go with a 150 pound stone. The first tree that was planted died and had to be replaced. (See light and soil requirements later in this article.) Also, we have moved and taken the memorial stone with us but opted to leave the tree thinking we might kill it in the transplanting. The next young tree we planted was inexpensive because it survived “Snowmegedon 2019-2020”. It looks like it will be forever deformed.
Still the trees are beautiful. And I think, worth the trouble. Their flowers smell good, especially some of the smaller deciduous varieties like the saucer magnolia or the lily magnolia.
Most magnolias grow best in moist, well-drained, slightly acid soils but neutral to slightly alkaline soils are also suitable for growth. Magnolias are adaptable to clay, loam, or sand soils, but most grow poorly in wet or poorly drained soils. Well-established plants can be moderately drought tolerant.
Magnolias prefer a spot in the garden that receives full sun to light shade. That said, if you live in a particularly warm or dry climate, your magnolia might benefit from a location shaded from the hot afternoon sun.
There are over 200 members of the Magnolia genus, however only about a dozen are commonly found in the United States. Most wild species are now becoming endangered due to loss of habitat.
Here in Texas, the most common species are the Southern Magnolia and their smaller cousins, Little Gem, and Teddy Bear. Southern Magnolias can grow to 90 feet with heavy smooth trunks. At one time their wood was used for furniture and venetian blinds. Now they are prized as ornamentals and sometimes even protected by local and federal ordinances. Southern Magnolia trees can live over 100 years. The Little Gem and Teddy Bear are used extensively as ornamentals because of their smaller size and longer flowering season.
Some of the most striking flowers grow on deciduous varieties and bloom in the early spring before they put on leaves. Some of these are man-made hybrids. These include Saucer Magnolia, Butterfly Magnolia (a yellow variety), Loebner, Felix and Tulip. These trees tend to be smaller and have a shrubby growth habit.
Growing magnolias from seed can be difficult. For more information on pagination from seed, follow the link below to an article by William Welch with Texas A&M:
I hope this story will encourage you to take time to remember and memorialize special moments worth remembering in your life. Although somewhat transient, plants or art in your garden can be a wonderful way to do that. After all, awareness of the journey and its seasons is one of the reasons we garden.
I leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Audrey Hepburn,
“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.”
William Welches article:
https://hortipm.tamu.edu/southerngarden/magnolia.html
A good source of additional information:
https://www.magnoliasociety.org/home