Hi,

I am new to gardening, having lived in a townhome most of my life. I
recently bought a house with an acre of land, and have been making
plans for landscaping it.

My wife and I were in Kentucky recently, and saw what we were told was
a tulip tree. I looked up tulip trees in my book on plants, and what
we saw was not what is described as a tulip tree in my book. That was
a very tall tree that has yellow flowers.

The plant we saw was more like a large shrub, and had flowers that
from the distance I was from them really looked like tulips. Can
anyone tell me what this is? The one I saw had deep purple flowers.

I live in Kansas City, and wondered if it would grow here. My wife
really liked them.

Mac

The tree you are talking about is a magnolia - magnolia soulangeana to be
exact. It sometimes goes by the name of tulip tree, japanese magnolia, or
saucer magnolia. The tree you saw in the book was liriodendron tulipifera
which is sometimes called tulip tree or tulip poplar. The magnolia blooms
earlier, usually well before the tree leafs out - in late Feb through late
April, depending on what part of the country you're in. The liriodendron
usually blooms after the tree has leafed out, - probably between April and
June depending again on what part of the country you are in. Magnolia
soulangeana should be perfectly hardy in Kansas City. Ask in a local
nursery - some varieties perform better than others in different
geographical locations. They also come in different color combinations, from
nearly white through deep purple - or pink and white, purple and white, rose
and white, etc.
"William McHarg" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I am new to gardening, having lived in a townhome most of my life. I
recently bought a house with an acre of land, and have been making
plans for landscaping it.

My wife and I were in Kentucky recently, and saw what we were told was
a tulip tree. I looked up tulip trees in my book on plants, and what
we saw was not what is described as a tulip tree in my book. That was
a very tall tree that has yellow flowers.

The plant we saw was more like a large shrub, and had flowers that
from the distance I was from them really looked like tulips. Can
anyone tell me what this is? The one I saw had deep purple flowers.

I live in Kansas City, and wondered if it would grow here. My wife
really liked them.

Mac

Thank you! I looked it up on the web, and that is what we were
seeing!

Mac


On Sun, 30 Mar 2003 23:10:43 -0800, "gregpresley"
wrote:

The tree you are talking about is a magnolia - magnolia soulangeana to be
exact. It sometimes goes by the name of tulip tree, japanese magnolia, or
saucer magnolia. The tree you saw in the book was liriodendron tulipifera
which is sometimes called tulip tree or tulip poplar. The magnolia blooms
earlier, usually well before the tree leafs out - in late Feb through late
April, depending on what part of the country you're in. The liriodendron
usually blooms after the tree has leafed out, - probably between April and
June depending again on what part of the country you are in. Magnolia
soulangeana should be perfectly hardy in Kansas City. Ask in a local
nursery - some varieties perform better than others in different
geographical locations. They also come in different color combinations, from
nearly white through deep purple - or pink and white, purple and white, rose
and white, etc.
"William McHarg" wrote in message
.. .
Hi,

I am new to gardening, having lived in a townhome most of my life. I
recently bought a house with an acre of land, and have been making
plans for landscaping it.

My wife and I were in Kentucky recently, and saw what we were told was
a tulip tree. I looked up tulip trees in my book on plants, and what
we saw was not what is described as a tulip tree in my book. That was
a very tall tree that has yellow flowers.

The plant we saw was more like a large shrub, and had flowers that
from the distance I was from them really looked like tulips. Can
anyone tell me what this is? The one I saw had deep purple flowers.

I live in Kansas City, and wondered if it would grow here. My wife
really liked them.

Mac

The first thing that came to mind was a Saucer Magnolia. The flowers look
just like a tulip flower, but the ones I see in this area are pink. I also
looked it up in one of my tree/shrub catalogs that I buy from locally. It
was called Magnolia x 'Jane'. It described it as hardy in zones 4-8. Does
best in full sun with average amounts of water and is deciduous. That's why
you see the tulip looking flowers now. The tree is bare in the winter,
developing 7-9 petaled purple-red flowers in March and developing just
leaves through the summer months. It also says it grows 10-15 ft. tall and
10 ft. wide.

They have been blooming for a couple of weeks now. I'm in Raleigh, NC, zone
7b. They are very pretty. The one you saw could have been a different
variety (color). I'm not really sure if they actually do have different
colors. The ones in this area have all been a pink color.

If you don't know your zone, you can go to Google or Yahoo and do a search
on USDA Hardiness Maps. A site there will identify your zone.
Hope this helps.

Penny
Zone 7b - North Carolina
"William McHarg" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I am new to gardening, having lived in a townhome most of my life. I
recently bought a house with an acre of land, and have been making
plans for landscaping it.

My wife and I were in Kentucky recently, and saw what we were told was
a tulip tree. I looked up tulip trees in my book on plants, and what
we saw was not what is described as a tulip tree in my book. That was
a very tall tree that has yellow flowers.

The plant we saw was more like a large shrub, and had flowers that
from the distance I was from them really looked like tulips. Can
anyone tell me what this is? The one I saw had deep purple flowers.

I live in Kansas City, and wondered if it would grow here. My wife
really liked them.

Mac

"gregpresley" wrote:

The tree you are talking about is a magnolia - magnolia soulangeana to be
exact. It sometimes goes by the name of tulip tree, japanese magnolia, or
saucer magnolia.
snipped

Magnolia soulangeana should be perfectly hardy in Kansas City. Ask in a local
nursery - some varieties perform better than others in different
geographical locations. They also come in different color combinations, from
nearly white through deep purple - or pink and white, purple and white, rose
and white, etc.


My mom is about 15 miles from downtown KC and was just telling me
yesterday about the local magnolias. She referred to them as "Japanese
magnolias" and said she's watched their beautiful blossoms barely open
and then turn black overnight every year for 25 years. The trees are
hearty but bloom too early to escape later frosts in that area. It
would break my heart to watch that every year.

sam
pnw z/8

What we call a tulip tree is a very tall tree related to the poplar. It has
large orange, yellow and green flowers.

Marilyn in Ohio