New Magnolias from Junker's Nursery (50b)

NEW	MAGNOLIA 'Lois' (M. acuminata x [M. acuminata x M. denudata]) Another of the new generation of precocious yellow flowering hybrids. By comparison with the well-known ‘Elizabeth’, this one is more intensely coloured, but the flowers are slightly smaller. However, they are held for a tremendously long time – four or 5 weeks – and fall without discolouring rather than fading with age. Definitely a worthwhile addition to our collection.

	MAGNOLIA 'Lotus' (M. x soulangeana 'Lennei Alba' x M. 'Mark Jury') Of the same parentage as my old favourites 'Athene' and 'Milky Way', this Felix Jury hybrid has exquisite, large pure cream flowers, which resemble the lotus flower for which it is named. Beautiful though it is, it takes longer to settle into the consistent blooming of its sisters. Flowering mid season, it will make an upright pyramidal tree to approx 5m.

NEW	MAGNOLIA 'Lucious'

	MAGNOLIA macrophylla subsp. ashei x virginiana A fabulous hybrid, combining to give large leaves with cream flowers blotched wine-purple within, up to 30 cm across. Valuable because it is summer flowering. I like this one more and more each year. Must get a decent picture of it becasue this one totally fails to do it justice!

	MAGNOLIA 'Malin' Although this is essentially a soulangeana type, I find the flower shape much more elegant, being slightly more upright, with slightly narrower and more pointed tepals. It is a delightful blush pink on the outside, almost white within. However, perhaps its most important attribute is its extreme hardiness; the flower buds surviving many degrees of frost even in March.

	MAGNOLIA 'Manchu Fan' (M. x soulangeana 'Lennei Alba' x M. veitchii) This recent introduction produces medium sized white goblets with purplish staining at the base. Flowers are freely produced on this strong upright hybrid to 5m.Due to slightly more compact nature of both plant as a whole and it's flowers; this is the Magnolia I would suggest for a more windy site.

	MAGNOLIA 'Margaret Helen' (M. liliiflora 'Nigra' x M. campbellii var. mollicomata) Combining 2 of my favourite species, this cultivar must surely have the best of both worlds. The rose red campbellii type bowl shaped blooms are freely produced from a young age. It is wonderful that the genetic influence from M. liliiflora 'Nigra' will overcome some of the traditional campbellii difficulties, making this wonderful hybrid growable by those of us with "difficult" sites. 6m.

	MAGNOLIA 'Marjory Gossler' (M. denudata x M. sargentiana var. robusta) Although florally reminiscent of the glorious Asiatic magnolias, this hybrid is extremely hardy. Substantial, well-shaped flowers are pure white inside whilst outside they have a noticeable purple flush at the base of the petals. Fragrant too.

	MAGNOLIA 'Maryland' This is a wonderful evergreen hybrid between M. grandiflora and M. virginiana. The leaves are a brighter, lighter green and it flowers from a very young age. Produces masses of creamy white, lemon-scented flowers in summer as typical of M. grandiflora.

	MAGNOLIA 'Mary Nell' (M. x soulangeana ‘Lennei Alba’ x M. x veitchii ‘Peter Veitch’) Previously known as M. ‘Joe McDaniel #2’, this apparently complicated Gresham hybrid is rather lovely. Flowering prolifically, I like the narrower tepals and more open shape. The fundamentally white tepals are flushed with purple from their base. Vigorous, though shrubby in form.

	MAGNOLIA 'Maxine Merrill' (M. acuminata ‘Miss Honeybee’ x M. x loebneri ‘Merrill’) I mentally classify this one aesthetically within the x loebneri group, although technically that is not the case - since it also benefits from M. acuminata in its parentage, it is correctly simply M. 'Maxine Merrill'. It is strongly reminiscent of that group in several ways: the general shape, size and habit, its tolerance of less than perfect conditions, as well as the sturdy, 6-petalled flowers which, uniquely in this company, are yellow.

	MAGNOLIA 'May to Frost' (M. liliiflora x M. cylindrica) Although the very deep reddish purple flowers never seem to open completely, they do, uniquely, repeat bloom for the entire season – hence the name! It rapidly forms a fairly upright but well-branched tree with attractive wavy margined foliage. The conspicuous seedpods are held vertically, like candles, in the manner of M. cylindrica. I gather that this hybrid is likely to be re-named in the future.

	MAGNOLIA 'Milky Way' (M. 'Mark Jury' x M. x soulangeana 'Alba') The heavy textured flowers in mid-spring are an icy white shaded rose-pink towards the base and pure white inside. The overall appearance is sparkling white. Fragrant. An erect neatly rounded tree from the late Felix Jury, growing to 5-6m.

	MAGNOLIA 'Mister Yellowjacket'

	MAGNOLIA 'Moondance' (M. x soulangeana x M. x veitchii) A splendid Gresham hybrid producing masses of huge white flowers, delicately flushed with pink at the base of each tepal. A tidy tree of upright pyramidal habit.

NEW	MAGNOLIA 'Nimbus' (M. hypoleuca x M. virginiana) I am excited by this unusual and extremely valuable addition to our collection. Intermediate between its parents, being as it is semi-evergreen. It also inherits later flowering (May) so should avoid all but the unluckiest frost. The creamy white flowers with reddish purple stamens are sweetly scented. Also vigorous and hardy, what more could we want?

	MAGNOLIA 'Olivia' (M. acuminata var. subcordata ‘Miss Honeybee’ x M. ‘Gold Crown’) This is actually the sister seedling to the highly rated M. ‘Daphne’ and looks just as good. If anything the flowers are bigger and the plant more fastigiate.