Saucer magnolias start their bloom

The large, purple, pink and white tulip-shape flowers of the Japanese magnolia (Magnolia x soulangeana) are popping in the South and will be progressing northward as the weather warms, making you wish you had planted one or two. The Japanese magnolia, also called saucer magnolia, is a cross reportedly made by one of Napoleon's retired soldiers. It has a wide range of hardiness from Zones 4 through 9.

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These huge flowers produced in late winter and early spring are a sight long remembered. Over the past few years they have been exceptional in bloom. They might be at your garden center now, depending on where you live.

Your Japanese magnolias also might be dormant like the ones in your neighborhood. Since they will not be blooming yet, the demand will be low, offering you top choices in selection. This also gives you time to get them in the landscape before they bloom.

When you decide to plant, choose a site that is fertile, well-drained, moist and ideally offers wind protection. Dig the hole three to five times as wide as the root ball, but no deeper. The top of the root ball should be even with the soil profile.

You might ask yourself why we always suggest the hole be wide. This allows for the easiest and quickest root expansion and thus good establishment in your landscape.

If by some chance you have to plant in late spring to early summer, you might want to form a 4-inch berm outside the root ball area. This berm should be able to hold five gallons of water. The berm makes it easy to get needed water to the root ball at a time when Mother Nature might not be so generous. Remove the berm after the first year.

The height of Japanese magnolias varies with the cultivar and will range from 15 to 30 feet. Space them 15 to 20 feet apart or from other spring-blooming trees.

Their flowers border on the spectacular with color, shape, size and fragrance. Even if the blossoms get killed by freezes every other year, those years in bloom are worth it. The large, fuzzy buds are unique in the winter garden and can be used as an accent or specimen.

The early spring or late winter garden can look like a Thomas Kincade painting with the Japanese magnolia, Taiwan cherry, forsythia, flowering quince and early blooming narcissus. With the addition of plants such as these, our spring will seem to be extended because the azaleas, dogwoods and redbuds will follow these first blooms. The Japanese magnolia also is superior in that it has no serious pests or diseases.

Feed Japanese magnolias in late winter. Apply a formula such as an 8-8-8 fertilizer at a rate of one pound per 100 square feet of planted area. This is the area from the trunk to just outside the canopy. If you feel you need to do some pruning, do so after the bloom cycle.

Alexandrina is one of the most popular varieties, but color varies and it is sometimes best to buy in bloom to select the color you want. Burgundy (deep purple), Rustica Rubra (reddish purple) and Lennei (dark purple) are well-known choices.

Verbanica (light purple) is gaining recognition for showing good frost tolerance during blooming. Also try Magnolia stellata, the star magnolia with white starlike flowers.

HORTICULTURIST NORMAN WINTER IS THE AUTHOR OF PARADISE FOUND: GROWING TROPICALS IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD, MISSISSIPPI GARDENER'S GUIDE AND TOUGH-AS-NAILS FLOWERS FOR THE SOUTH. READERS MAY WRITE TO HIM AT NORMANWEXT.MSSTATE.EDU.