The magnolias are looking pretty good this year. They are usually one of the first things to bloom every year. And this year many of them are doing it well.
So we were sitting around talking about growing magnolias. I’ve never tried to grow one on purpose. I have one that sprouts pretty much right in front of me every year, but that is not a result of me doing anything. But it is pretty nice.
But someone made a comment about how pricey they are. Pretty much any sort of tree of shrub is pretty pricey. You’re not buying a flower for a day. You’re getting flowers for many years, so I guess that’s the best way to look at it.
At the moment I have various flowers of pink, red and yellow around my yard. The pink and the red are apparently harder to grow. Yellow, not so much.
The red would be the quince. The look nice this time of year with all their blossoms. You have to be careful as we get into the fall because the little rocks they produce that are supposedly fruit can be dangerous. Hit one of those with the lawn mower and it could be a dangerous weapon. I’ve been told you can make jelly out of these things. I’ve never tried. I did try to taste one once. It didn’t go well. Those things are hard. But you can make more from cuttings, only you need rooting solution and it has to be done at the right time. All that sounds like a bit too much work.
Same with the magnolia. You can grow a new plant from cuttings. But it has to be the right time of year and you have to take off certain leaves and leave other leaves and it has to go just right. There was also something about air layering, which is making cuts in a stem and wrapping moss around it for a couple years until roots suddenly spring forth. Again, a lot of work with no real guarantee of results.
Sort of like rhododendrons. We’ve tried several times to make more rhododendrons from the ones we have. It worked. Once. Out of several attempts. We finally discovered that if you just let the things grow, some of the longer branches will touch the ground and root on their own. Eventually. But that seems to be the easy way.
But then there’s the current yellow flowers around my yard. Some are daffodils. They were planted. Bulbs may split over time and make more, but that’s really a long shot. Some are dandelions. I don’t think anyone has a problem growing those. They just happen.
Then there are the forsythia. You can always make more of those. Cut a piece off a forsythia and it will likely be sending out roots before it hits the ground. They seem to like to grow just about anywhere. Sure, it can be a bit of a pain keeping them under control, but it’s nice to be able to make more at the drop of a branch.
If only others could be as accommodating.
