Magnolia Tripetala Question

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Tue Jun 04, 2013 3:51 pm

Well, I would have to say my biggest surprise this year is my Magnolia Tripetala. I left 5 seedlings outside for the winter in dixie cups (well, I lost them to be honest). I found them after the snow melted and took a look at them. All of them were mush. A few weeks later I find another dixie cup, low and behold it was another Tripetala, but this one had a solid stem. Fast forward 2 months to today, I just noticed a fat green bud.

Now, the plant is only 2 inches tall, but I can see a decent little root system through the cup. Im wondering how much sun they can take this far north. The closest one I can think of would be in Pauls yard in kingston. Im also wondering how much care they need when planted and when is the best time to plant it (age of the plant, I know the time of the year). Im just not experienced with mags in any form.

Thanks...

andym · Post by **andym** » Wed Jun 05, 2013 3:00 pm

Seems to do well in my cool climate.... grew around 4ft of growth last year. Currently starting to produce the big leaves but no flowers yet. I am growing it in imported sandy slightly acid soil which it seems to like. I have also planted out a small Magnolia Macrophylla and it has not even leafed yet

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Thu Jun 06, 2013 6:54 am

How much sun does your tripetala get up there andy? Im almost 5 degrees lat south of you.....

andym · Post by **andym** » Thu Jun 06, 2013 3:00 pm

Jesse it gets around 7/8 hours in high Summer. Its not planted in the warmest part of my garden but seems ok where it is.

Paul Ont · Post by **Paul Ont** » Fri Jun 07, 2013 6:48 am

Jesse- The thing with the larger leafed Magnolia species is that they need some serious heat to harden off properly before winter. You get cold enough that even well hardened wood MIGHT be in trouble anyway. M. tripetala is definitely the one to mess with, the furthest 'north' (north meaning cold in this case, since we all know that latitude does not correlate well with warmth/cold) is in North Gower Ontario (near Ottawa) a 3b or 4a location. They can definitely take cold, but you'll sometimes see damage on them in places are unbelievable as England of the PNW due to there not being sufficient heat for the wood to harden before cold hits... I should say too that this is more an issue with M. macrophylla and M. macrophylla ssp. ashei then with tripetala.

Oh, and just so you know, I only ever get damage on my tripetalas in summer, they aren't very drought tolerant before they establish!

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Fri Jun 07, 2013 10:02 am

Thanks again andy

Some of the info Ive read is contradicting. One site says "The further north it is grown, the more likely it can take full sun, with regular watering", while the other states " sources state this species cannot take full sunlight (in Ohio)"

At least they agree tripetala prefers dappled light, slightly acidic, well draining, moist, organic soils....

Do you know when I should plant it in the ground? Here is a pic. Its a small seedling:

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Fri Jun 07, 2013 10:07 am

Paul Ont wrote:Jesse- The thing with the larger leafed Magnolia species is that they need some serious heat to harden off properly before winter. You get cold enough that even well hardened wood MIGHT be in trouble anyway. M. tripetala is definitely the one to mess with, the furthest 'north' (north meaning cold in this case, since we all know that latitude does not correlate well with warmth/cold) is in North Gower Ontario (near Ottawa) a 3b or 4a location. They can definitely take cold, but you'll sometimes see damage on them in places are unbelievable as England of the PNW due to there not being sufficient heat for the wood to harden before cold hits... I should say too that this is more an issue with M. macrophylla and M. macrophylla ssp. ashei then with tripetala.

Oh, and just so you know, I only ever get damage on my tripetalas in summer, they aren't very drought tolerant before they establish!

Well you just answered my question on placement. Its going to be about 6 feet away from my house, which is about 30 feet tall. It will be south facing, and there is also a west facing wall, almost like an "L". It should get tons of reflected heat its entire life. The ground is also sloped away from the house so it should get tons of water.

The main thing i need to know is if its too small to plant (pictures in above post).

Thanks again Paul

andym · Post by **andym** » Fri Jun 07, 2013 3:29 pm

Jesse... Personally I would not plant out until the plant has developed a strong rootstock and at least 2-3ft of stem as mine was when I bought it. Mine was also fed well which encouraged the large leaves but also helped the plant to grow quickly. Winter wise we are worlds apart as my minimum temp this Winter was -7C but generally only -4/5C which was mild. We did however have a persistent Easterly/Northeasterly dessicating wind which damaged some of my Evergreens. The Tripetala was completely undamaged including budding points. On the Macrophylla ssp Ashei I lost the main growth bud. Admittedly The Macrophylla was still in its pot outside over Winter but it does seem more intolerant to cold than Tripetala but did leaf well last year and produce some huge leaves

canadianplant · Post by **canadianplant** » Fri Jun 07, 2013 6:40 pm

andy

My problem is making sure that it gets the proper cold for the winter. My front porch might work, but the temp swings are crazy in there and there is nothing to protect the roots. My garage isnt insulated, and my basement is too warm. The only option I have is to put it outside I think. At least where Im at I have reliable snow and you also have to remember, this was outside all last winter in a dixie cup, in the coldest part of my yard.