On 04/04/15 08:40, wrote:
On Thu, 02 Apr 2015 09:54:19 +0100, Jeff Layman
wrote:

On 01/04/15 23:55, wrote:
On Tue, 31 Mar 2015 17:15:17 +0100, "Bob Hobden"
wrote:

Drove over to Wakehurst to look at the Magnolias and spring flowers, photos
at...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bobhob...7651263189080/

Nice. I love Magnolias, have tried to grow them here but the frosts
get the better of them.

The flowers or the plants themselves?

Certainly the flowers, but the couple of Magnolias I had have either
died, or died back to ground level and never grow back past that
stage. The few flowers I have had do not look properly developed
either, I suspect we simply run out of summer before the flowering
really gets going. The latter problem happens with many other plants
here too.

There are late spring or
summer-flowering ones which could be OK for you, depending on where you
are. Quite a few are hardy down to USA Zone 4 or 5.

Thanks Jeff, I will have to look into other varieties of Magnolia.
I am in Tasmania.
I just looked into this USA zone business, and it looks like I'm in
zone 2 or 3... more like zone 2 though, as I live in the mountains:
https://www.anbg.gov.au/gardens/rese...rch/zones.html

Well, Zone 2/3 in Australia is very similar to much of southern UK (Zone
7 USA). However, if you get snow which covers plants you can often get
away with more cold-sensitive plants if they are covered by snow and so
protected from much lower temperatures and desiccating winds.

Does Eucryphia lucida (Leatherwood) grow anywhere near you? If so, I am
surprised that you are having a problem with magnolias. Even if it
doesn't, there are quite a few Magnolias you could try. These are from
the RHS Dictionary of Gardening (from 1992, so there will be many others
now). All are USA Zone 6 or lower. Also look at the cultivars and
hybrids from the list below. Just about all should withstand -15�C. Most
magnolias will flower before or as the leaves open, so "running out of
summer" should not be a reason for poor flowering. In general, magnolias
will not withstand drying out or being waterlogged for any length of time.

M. acuminata
M. x Brooklyiensis
M. 'Charles Coates'
M. cylindrica
M. denudata
M. De Vos and Kosar hybrids
M. fraseri
M. Freeman hybrids
M. Gresham hybrids
M. hypoleuca
M. 'Kewensis'
M. kobus
M. liliflora
M. x loebneri
M. x proctoriana
M. salicifolia
M. x soulangiana
M. stellata
M. x thompsoniana
M. virginiana
M. x wiesneri

I have tried to avoid evergreen and very large-leaved magnolias as these
do not like windy conditions.

Of course, how many of these are available in Tasmania is another thing
entirely! I believe that Australia has some of the most restrictive
practices when it comes to importing any plant material.

Good luck! I love magnolias, and couldn't imagine a garden without them.

--

Jeff