History Of Magnolias

Magnolias are very old. Their fossilized remains have been found as far back as the Tertiary Period, which took place an unimaginable 100 million years ago. This makes them real survivors.  And, at that time the Arctic Circle was not Arctic but European in climate, so that magnolias and associated plants, such as liriodendron and ginkgo, grew over a very wide area. Then there was a dramatic climate change, the polar ice cap expanded and the plants in the northern areas were destroyed. The plants of China, parts of Japan and eastern North America survived, however, and therefore have a great many similarities.

The name Magnolia commemorates a great French botanist, Pierre Magnol (1638-1715), who was known as an inspired teacher and a very prominent horticulturist. When Pierre Magnol died in 1715 there was but one species of magnolia in Britain, then the epicenter of botanic development. This was the evergreen Magnolia virginiana from North America, known as swamp bay or sweet bay. It was sent in 1688 by a Virginian missionary called John Bannister, who had always been interested in botany.

These days Magnolia virginiana is not commonly grown by ordinary gardeners, perhaps because of the wide choice now available, but its creamy flowers have a sweet scent and it is smaller-growing than its relative, M. grandiflora, known as the southern magnolia, bull bay or great laurel magnolia. M. virginiana's real importance is, perhaps, that it introduced Europe to a wonderful new genus, for neither evergreen nor deciduous magnolias are native to that continent.

After this, Sir Joseph Banks, who voyaged around the Pacific with Captain Cook in the late 18th century, introduced Magnolia denudata (Yulan magnolia) in 1780. But it was not until the 20th century that many of today's magnolias were introduced, in particular by two British men, namely George Forrest and Ernest "Chinese" Wilson. George Forrest was sponsored to go plant hunting by some wealthy European horticulturists, who then owned the plants he sent back. He is remembered with gratitude for collecting thousands of plants, in particular, the wonderful M. campbellii subsp mollicomata and its marvelous cultivar 'Lanarth', which he took back home with him in 1904.

It is interesting to note that Magnolia campbellii itself was introduced in 1868 by Sir Joseph Hooker, who named it after Dr. Archibald Campbell, Political Resident at Darjeeling, India. These two magnolias of the same species differ in that campbellii subsp mollicomata comes from Yunnan province in China, and flowers a little later than does M. campbellii, which is from the Himalayas.

Ernest Wilson also introduced a great number of plants, including eight new species of magnolia. These beautiful species are widely grown today. They are Magnolia dawsoniana, M. delavayi, M. officinalis, M. sargentiana, M. sargentiana robusta, M. sinensis, M. sprengeri and M. wilsonii. From 1906 until his tragically early death in 1930, he worked for the Arnold Arboretum in Boston. No other plant hunter introduced so many species of magnolias.

Once many species of magnolias had been introduced to Britain and North America, and rapidly also to other temperate climates, plant breeders set about producing beautiful hybrids from these species. The earliest of these hybridizers was a retired French army captain called Etienne Soulange-Bodin who in 1820 used Magnolia denudata crossed with M. liliiflora (syn M. quinquepeta) to produce Magnolia x soulangeana, a hardy old favorite still in gardens all over the world. There are at least forty selections of this particular cultivar grown today.

Many very beautiful hybrids have originated, not from a plant breeding program as such, but from the efforts of dedicated gardeners, whether in making crosses or noticing chance seedlings of merit. Many truly magnificent hybrid magnolias have come from great British gardens - the superb 'Charles Raffill',  Caerhay's Castle ('Caerhay's Belle', 'Caerhay's Surprise', Magnolia sprengeri 'Diva'), Nymans Garden (M. x loebneri 'Leonard Messel' and 'Michael Rosse').

In 1956, at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Dr. Eva Maria Sperber bred some very interesting hybrids by crossing Magnolia acuminata with M. denudata. Magnolia acuminata (cucumber tree) is a very large deciduous tree with yellow-green flowers that come after the leaves and so tend to obscure these beautifully colored blooms. This species is used in breeding to try to produce yellow flowers on precocious magnolias (that is, those which produce flowers before the leaves come), therefore producing a much more spectacular display. The best-known hybrid from this cross is the lovely yellow-flowered M. 'Elizabeth'. Dr. Sperber then crossed M. liliiflora with M. acuminata to produce M. 'Eva Maria', which has purple tepals (petals in magnolias are always known as tepals) suffused yellow-green. This was a true breakthrough in color, a most exciting event.