THE HARDY EXOTIC MAGNOLIAS There are sixteen species of magnolias worth cultivating in this country, six of which are natives. Two of these natives and five exotics have proved hardy as far north as Boston. The others are not to be depended upon north of Washington, D. C. It is plain that they reach their highest development in the South ern States.
Whenever you see a magnolia in the North blossoming before the leaves you may be sure that it is an exotic species; and if the flowers are coloured you may be equally sure that it is a hybrid belonging to a group of which the type is Magnolia Sou langeana. This hybrid is a cross between Magnolia Yulan and Magnolia obovata, and it is most interesting to compare these two with their offspring. Both parents came from China and Japan, where they grow wild. All Of our important exotic species are natives of the same countries, except M. Canipbelli, which comes from the Himalaya Mountains.
The Yulan magnolia (Magnolia Yulan) has pure white, fragrant flowers, which are bell shaped and fully 6 inches across. It is a hardy tree which grows about 5o feet high. For centuries it has been a favorite in Japanese gardens. The purple magnolia, Magnolia obovata, is only a shrub, and it cannot endure our northern winters. It blooms in May or June—later than the Yulan—and its flowers are relatively small and almost scentless. The outside of the flowers is purple, and it is from this that the hybrids get their shades of pink and rose and crimson.
It can be readily understood what a triumph it was to cross these two species successfully, for the hybrids are hardy, large flowered and fragrant; and they present several new and most desirable colours. In this group are the following: Alexandrina, grandis, Lennei, Norbertiana and speciosa. They are all small trees, excellent for setting in city yards and in other prominent places, for after the blossoms the fruits and foliage are both decorative.
The starry magnolia (Magnolia stellata) is also a very fine species for home grounds, as it blooms in March and April and is one of the earliest of the flowering shrubs. Not only is it the earliest • magnolia, but it is wonderfully precocious, beginning to bloom when scarcely 2 feet high. Unlike most magnolias, its flowers are star shaped, opening out flat instead of forming cups or bells. When open the flowers measure 3 inches across. They are made of sixteen to eighteen narrow petals— twice as many as most magnolias have. There is a variety, rosea, with petals flushed with pink outside.
Magnolia Kobus, a large tree from Japan, is at present of interest only to connoisseurs. Though one of the hardiest of the exotics, it does not yet bloom profusely. Its white flowers are star shaped, 4 or 5 inches across. They open in April or May.