To help you, our readers, have a healthy, happy garden we are including a new section in our monthly newsletter entitled, Disease and Pest of the Month. Each month I will write about a common garden disease or pest, as well as what you need to do to deal with it. A weed is a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered. I was working in the garden a few hours ago and happened to look up at an unusual and wonderful magnolia I planted in the spring. I planted this small tree near some stairs and several windows in the house where its flowers would be easily seen and enjoyed.
Most people associate magnolias with spring, as that is when most varieties of magnolia flower.
While many magnolias will grow in northern climates, magnolias generally do better in the south, where their early spring flowers are less likely to be killed by frost or a late winter storm. When you mention magnolia to many northerners, visions of the April ground blanketed by slimy petals, prematurely killed by frost, are common. However, a wonderful magnolia called sweet bay, botanically called Magnolia virginiana, will forever change your opinion of magnolia. Unlike most magnolia, sweet bay doesn t start flowering until May, making it ideal for areas as far north as southern Hardiness Zone 5. The tree will continue to sporadically produce white flowers that smell like lemons until August or September.