On 04/07/2014 10:09, Sacha wrote:
On 2014-07-04 06:48:27 +0000, Jeff Layman said:

On 03/07/2014 23:16, Sacha wrote:
We did an evening tour of the garden and walking up the nursery path,
Raymond glanced at the Liriodendron tulipifera he planted about 20
years ago, maybe more and let out a yell. For the first time ever, it's
flowered! We counted about a dozen blooms on it. It's only waited until
it's around 35' tall! Do they usually take so long to flower?

I think so. It is a member of the Magnolia family, after all. 20
years isn't too bad - it could have taken after M. campbellii!

The irony of that is that Ray planted that Magnolia about 18 or so
years ago and it started flowering about 8 years ago!

Are you sure that it is straight M. campbellii? According to Hillier,
M. campbellii subsp mollicomata flowers earlier - "sometimes within 10 -
15 years". There are also hybrids between M. campbellii subsp
campbellii and M. campbellii subsp mollicomata (raised at Sidbury in
Devon) which also flower earlier than M. campbellii.

--

Jeff