Ruud Kleinpaste: The first blooms of Magnolia flowers

It was one of those moments that got me going back in time. A week and a bit ago (just before that ultra cold time in Christchurch) I stumbled across the very first brilliant magnolia flowers that reminded me of Maggie’s Garden Show, all those decades ago.   This dark coloured and early flowering Magnolia tree whispered “Black Tulip” to me – one of Mark Jury’s earlier hybrids, created at Tikorangi, (Mount Taranaki). Felix Jury was a breeder for a long time and together with his son, Mark, they literally created a huge number of Magnolias.   We both love Magnolias and Julie decided to do some research on these trees and shrubs in Canterbury… Of course, she ended up remembering the Lincoln University’s Arboretum from all those years ago. And that Arboretum used to have a rather good collection of magnolias.   Some “Early Rose” from the 1990s (Jury Family, of course).  The Arboretum has been lacking some maintenance, but the good news is that there were quite a few garden staff working at the weeding and restoration of all those sizeable Magnolia trees, as well as other wonderful specimens. Certainly, now is the time to find some Magnolias where you can.   Botanic Gardens often give you the variety name so you can hunt for the pretty evergreen and deciduous Magnolia providers. Magnolia Grove, The Plant Company, Southern Woods Nursery, Little Big Tree Company, Wairere Nursery   It’s always useful to visit The Tikorangi Garden, run by Mark and Abbie Jury.  And if you are keen to try to breed New Varieties, that would be brilliant but pretty tricky – it involves hand-pollinating selected parent flowers to create custom hybrid crosses: harvesting the seeds in autumn and growing them out.   Good Luck! But it’s worth the effort…  LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.