My Experiences with My Little Gems
(For what it's worth)
|
What is a Little Gem Magnolia? The Little Gem Magnolia is a slow-growing hybrid (cultivar) of the Magnolia grandiflora that is sometimes called a "dwarf". It will get tall (up to 40', usually less), but not nearly as tall as the M. grandiflora (which can get over 80' tall), and it grows very slowly. It may grow to be 8 - 10' wide. It has blooms on it when it is very young, as opposed to the original Magnolia grandiflora growing in the wilds which sometimes takes 15-20 years to bloom. They bloom when very small, and often bloom in off seasons. These magnolias are prized for small lawns, and their popularity is growing. They are producing different varieties of the Little Gem now. It looks a little different from the traditional Magnolia Grandiflora that is the "Southern Magnolia". They don't shave quite the branch spread as a M. grandiflora. The leaves are smaller and some have more "golden rust" color on the underside. The blossoms are smaller, also, although they look like the blossoms on the M. grandiflora. I don't think it is as magnificent as the traditional magnolia, but their scent is as wonderful. I love to see any type of magnolia blossoms, so I'm happy to have one with a longer blooming season. On the good side - the blossoms are just as beautiful as those from a Grandiflora! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ (Summer of 1999) After looking for months, I finally found a small
Gem Magnolia!
Here are some planting instructions:
It has been my experience that even though it may be blooming the year you purchase and plant your Little Gem, don't be surprised if it doesn't bloom much (or any) the next year or so as it settles in and the roots start spreading.
I plan to put photos here when they open.
Little Gem Photos © Linda Saxon Nix My first blossom from 1999 is on the left. It was past its prime because I was away for a long weekend when it opened and came back after it had started to fade; plus it had been through a bad rainstorm that tore the petals. The blossom on the right was taken in 2005. It is small but beautifully formed.
Secret for Continual Bloom: ("They" say) After the blossom forms, opens and dies, and all of the petals fall off, you should break off the ovary which will produce the seed pod. This supposedly will force the tip of the limb to "branch out" with new leaves, and it is on the tips of the new branches that the new buds will form. Doing this, though, prevents seed pods from forming. Wonder how many people do this and don't get many subsequent blossoms anyway? Supposedly it will bloom again during the summer. I've seen some that do bloom in late summer, but not all summer long. Mine has never had bloomed after the first blooming season. Occasionally I do see a magnolia around town with a lot of blooms late in the summer.
Despite the drought, my Little Gem survived a year, although it didn't grow any. This year, it has produced three blossoms and is showing small signs of new growth. It takes time for the roots to become established in their new surroundings. The blossoms so far this year are simply beautiful. I tried some Salvias around the base and they looked nice for a short while. My friend, Elizabeth R., has a rule about plants
around here where the soil is very sandy. She says, you plant it and
it doesn't grow a bit for three years. IF it survives, it will start
growing after three years. My Little Gem not only followed Elizabeth's
Rule, it regressed for a few years. One of its blooms from 2000:
Photo © Linda S. Nix Summer 2001
Pretty sad, huh? The weather, and also the area in which I planted my Little Gem have not been kind to it. It is planted on a slanted portion of the yard that leads down to the street, making too much drainage. Also, it doesn't get a full day of sun because it is too close to the very old, very tall Magnolia grandiflora tree that was native to the lot when we built the home.
The soil is sandy and drains water and nutrients very quickly. The last few summers have been terribly dry and hot, and despite watering, last year it declined rather than grew. It looked pretty pitiful most of the year in spite of having about 6 blossoms. Mistakes I made: I didn't start using granular fertilizer
until this year (2003). As I said, my soil is very sandy and liquid
fertilizer just drained down and out. Should have used the liquid more
often. Summer 2002
Fall of 2002 After I started giving it solid fertilizer, it now
has about 16 new little growth limbs. If they all live, it will help
to give my tree the fullness it needs to start looking as good as
it was when I got it! It still is in the wrong location, but I plan
to leave it there and just baby it to see what it does.
Summer 2003 The very worst year of all. No blossoms at all.
Time for drastic action. I started giving it granular fertilizer more
often, along with an occasional dunking of liquid MirAcid. I tried
to keep it watered, and didn't plant any flowers around it.
Moral of this story: Spend some money for good stock. Don't just look for a bargain. Make sure it is symmetrical with branches on all sides. Choose your site carefully. New Little Gem
I just had to get a new Little Gem and plant it in a different spot since the first one hasn't done too well. I got this one at a plant and garden Show in March. It had buds on it that opened when they matured. I didn't take a photo of it the first year, but this photo was taken in September of 2004. Elizabeth's Rule didn't affect this one - it grew the first year. It was planted in the middle of the front yard, not on a slope and closer to the house so it probably gets more watering. It had about a eight blossoms this year, and bloomed a second time with three more blossoms. It was larger and fuller to start with, and I paid more for it. I think that it is a better plant. It is healthier, and has performed better. By 2005, it was sitting still, but blooming. Wait until next year and we will see if it fills back out. (Note: 2005 - it had about 6-9 blooms)
The older, first Little Gem seems to be doing well. It had about eight flowers year in 2004. It is definitely taller, and the branches and leaves seem to be filling in. By 2005, it had filled out quite a bit, but I don't think it will ever be very large since it isn't in full sun. What will 2006 bring? Probably big disappointments on the Gulf Coast. Many magnolias were severely damaged by salt water spray from Hurricane Katrina. Others were uprooted or crushed by larger trees or buildings falling on them. It will be a miracle is any but those that were in very protected areas even bloom at all. I didn't lose any of my Little Gems, but had to stake them upright again as the strong winds bent them over. The remaining sparse leaves on most Magnolias are salt damaged and look bad. We will have to wait and see if they have the strength to bloom at all this year. I do know that my Magnolia soulangeanas are not blooming, and usually have by this time of year.
Hurricane Katrina hit on August 29, 2005. All of the magnolias suffered a lot of damage, and lost most of their leaves. They looked bad the rest of the year, and had to be staked. Below are photos of summer 2006. Update: The Steel Magnolias of the Mississippi
Gulf Coast are putting forth a tremendous effort. Those still standing,
with a few leaves, have begun unfurling beautiful, lush green leaves,
and they are blooming! In fact, my Brown Bracken, which hasn't bloomed
for the two years after I planted it, has two buds. My tacky little
first Little Gem has five buds, and three have already opened. I have
noticed that most of the magnolia blooms this year are pretty small,
but they get an "A" for effort. I've managed to photograph
a few, and gotten two great images like the one below.
Magnolia grandiflora
Despite their setbacks, they lived. The salt spray didn't kill
them, and as I found, most of the magnolias on the Gulf Coast, except
for those right in the surge, did much better than the other types
of trees.
2007 2007 brought a better year. All three of the babies seemed to start growing new branches, and they bloomed. The New Little Gem had about 16 blossoms; the Brown Bracken 5-6, and the still scrawny old Little Gem did O.K. The Soulangeana bloomed a little, but not much.
Magnolia Information I
live in "Magnolia Land" and am surrounded by magnolias (or
what's left now that Katrina I'm
sorry, but I cannot answer individual questions about magnolias Your
best bet, if your question can't be found in the links below, or links
on that page, is to call your local county extension agent, or a local
nursery. You can also Google your question by typing something like,
"time to prune magnolias", or "proper time to prune
trees". You will probably find that the time is right after a
tree that blooms has bloomed. But, check with an expert. Call a nursery. Questions and Answers about Magnolias Evolution of a Magnolia Blossom If
you have questions, and they weren't answered here you may want to
do a
Magnolias from Around the World I get a lot of mail from all over the world about my magnolia pages. I guess I'm a bit surprised how many people love magnolias as much as I do. I wonder if your magnolias are different from mine, or if you have different varieties. I would love to have pictures of your magnolia trees, or, better still, a close-up of your magnolia blossoms. If you have a scanner or a digital camera, please send them and I will put them on my World Magnolia Page. I respect your copyright and would never use your photos other than display them on this page. To see some magnolias from around the world, view
my
More Magnolia Pages...
|
Back to my Links Page to see the entire Magnolia Menu.
