As a little girl I remember daddy bringing mom a magnolia tree home for her birthday. Which birthday? Doesn’t matter. What I do remember was how thrilled mom was? She had daddy plant it where she could see it from her kitchen window. At the time I thought magnolias were just that… magnolia trees. But, like everything else I learned that around the world there are over two hundred varieties of magnolias, in the United States over eighty varieties, and they include both evergreen and deciduous classifications.
We had the Southern Magnolia because we were in the South. Mom loved the large, showy, lemon citronella-scented white flowers. And, maybe she thought there was just one type of magnolia too, though I doubt it since Mom loved trees and flowers.
Well, you can’t imagine my surprise when Debbie, the woman who grew up in the home we bought, sent me a picture of a magnolia tree her mother had planted in their front yard! Sadly, the people who bought the home after her father’s death, removed that gorgeous magnolia.
Now Debbie’s mother’s tree was not a Southern Magnolia like my mother had, but it was a beautiful magnolia suitable to the colder (Zone 5) Gloversville area. Her type of magnolia is called a Saucer Magnolia which is actually a hybrid of the magnolia family. It is the type magnolia is planted in much of Southern England and very popular on the East and West coasts of the United States. The blossoms can range from various shades of white or pink to maroon. As with the Southern Magnolia the flowers are very fragrant.
I needed to make sure that Debbie’s mother’s beautiful magnolia was replaced. But, I needed to confirm that it would thrive in our yard. So after much research, I confirmed the Saucer Magnolia can grow in just about any type soil; Acidic, Clay, Drought Tolerant, Loamy, Moist, Rich, Sandy, or Well Drained and grows well in Zones 4-9. I contacted the Arbor Day Foundation. and ordered a Saucer Magnolia to replace the one that had been removed. It will arrive about April 17 and be planted. Since we are on a busy corner we know that each tree in our yard will absorb much of the CO2 produced by cars driving by. And we will have added one more tree to help keep the air of Gloversville clean.
