Summer Blooming Magnolias

Magnolia grandiflora. DavetheMage. Wikimedia Commons.

Nothing says summer more than the scent of the summer blooming Magnolias! These trees are a staple of the American South, and are culturally significant to the region, being the source of many literary references, movie references, and perfume and candle scents. M. grandiflora has large flowers (up to one foot long) that are very fragrant of lemon, with a musky to rank undercurrent. Its a very endearing scent nonetheless, and a neighborhood bathed in the scent on a humid evening is one of the finer scents of the horticultural world.

The tree grows over a large region in the Southern United States by the coast. The larger trees are hardy to zone 8, but many cultivars are available on the market hardy to zone 6, like Bracken Brown and Little Gem, which happen to be minis. I’ve noticed many of these small cultivars growing here in my home of Lexington, Kentucky at a zone of 6b, and some have been known to grow as far north as Cincinnati, Ohio in zone 6a.  The trees are rarely higher than 30 feet in these locations however.

The flowering is over a wide period, from mid-May to September. The largest bloom occurs in June, but many trees will have a smattering of blooms throughout the season. The largest trees will grow to be up to 100 feet, but they are more common topping out in the 80 foot range. These evergreen trees are native to the moist forests and swamps of the Coastal plain, but can grow in a variety of conditions as long as they get water during establishment. Be warned that in marginally hardy areas, one good cold snap with wet soil conditions is enough to take out these trees. They are also intolerant of ice storms, due to their large evergreen leaves, and the branches will snap, as they did this past year in many places across the south.

Magnolia sieboldii. Daniel Mosquin. http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca.

M. sieboldii has a bloom period much like the Southern Magnolia, blooming in late May and early June heavily, but continuing throughout the season with a small smattering of blooms. Its an East Asian native, and is national flower of North Korea.  It is a smaller growing tree, only up to 30 feet, and often only making it to large bush size. The flowers are 4-5 inches across, with striking red stamens, and a sweet smell. It is deciduous, but has nice large leaves in either case. Its a perfect small garden and courtyard specimen.

M. sieboldii is more particular about growing conditions, but it is hardier than the Southern Magnolia, and able to grow better in Northern gardens, as long as its not given a southern exposure which encourages earlier bloom. Its a rarer specimen, and I have never come across any in bloom in my home state of Kentucky.

Lastly, I apologize for the lack of posts on this blog. I am rather busy of late, and exhausted most nights. Please forgive me for my lack of reliable posts! Also, if I have not talked about a certain fragrant plant, feel free to give me suggestions for plants to detail!

The University of Kentucky Arboretum. all-americaselections.org.

“The bouquet of the garden on a June day is rich and heterogeneous. Turn this way and that and the nose is accosted by wave after wave of sweetness from the rose, iris, honeysuckle, mock orange, peony, pink, and besides these chief distillers, any of which we should count as good for a month’s allowance of perfume, there are many lesser alembics at work transmuting their juices into enchanting airs.”

– The June Garden, The Fragrant Path, Louise Beebe Wilder.

“In June, the world is a perfume bottle and aromas surround unsuspecting olfactory organs from all sides; a gardener can easily drown in the overwhelming redolence…June may be sparkling, or it might be splattered with thundershowers. Either way, it’s never a shy month. The long days of the summer solstice are accented by some of the most extravagant blossoms known to man.”

– The Essence of Paradise, Tovah Martin.

If there were any month gardeners in the Northern hemisphere prize above all others, it would have to be June. No month is as fragrant or bright, where every space of the garden is teeming with sunshine, verdant growth, and blooms. June is the month that brings roses to the North, magnolias to the South, and gardenias to patios everywhere. Fields are overcome with lillies of all sorts, while herbs like lavender and rosemary grace knot gardens in the finest estates. Stephanotis clambers up greenhouse and florist store walls, and passionflowers on outdoor arbors. Yes, it is true, June is overwhelming to the senses, as long days and short nights bring the best out of plant life.

I like to think that Stephen Foster wrote ‘my old Kentucky home’ during the month of June, as the sun shines a brilliant brightness in my state during this month in particular. ‘Tis summer, the people are gay as the old tune goes and while corn tops may not be ripe yet, meadows will never be more in bloom during these longest of days. June is for romance, long walks on humid nights, heat lightning paired with the scent wafting from Gardenia. No season outdoors can compare, to that of the June air.

 

 

Late Spring Edition- Indolent Bloomers.

Sambucus canadensis. J.M. Garg. Wikimedia Commons.

As the days grow ever longer and the thermometer and humidity climbs up and up, I’m reminded summer is quickly approaching the Northern Hemisphere. While Memorial Day is the unofficial start in the States, and the Solstice the more official start, the real start to summer is subject to guess and preference. In any case, as the weather continually warms, scents put on a different character themselves, as everything seems to become more powerful. For the late-blooming ‘Miss Kim’ Lilacs, and Irises, this can be a good character for a garden. However, our friends with indolent compounds again remind us that heat is not always better. In fact, both Elderberry and Privet smell quite tolerable when caught on a breeze or on a cool day as compared to in warm, humid weather.

Elderberries are native to every continent except Africa (unless you count Madeira as belonging to Africa) and just about every climate imaginable as well. The main species is S. nigra, native to the majority of the Northern Hemisphere. All species make wonderful small trees and large shrubs, with edible berries when ripe, but the flowers are only slightly tolerable. The single flowers grouped together form large corymbs, looking like dinner plates when in full bloom. The fragrance is sweet but also slightly fetid, reminiscent of Chestnut blooms as the weather warms. The foliage also has a strange scent that is not particularly pleasant. In any case, a wonderful jam is made from the berries, as are the liquers made from the stems and berries, which carry very little of the fetid aroma that the live plant does.

Ligustrum japonicum. Kenpei. Wikimedia Commons.

Privet is a shrub that grows almost as commonly as elderberry, but without the edible fruits. Privets are part of the Olive family, a family known for its scented species, and this one is certainly well represented. Like elderberry, it has a scent tolerable in small doses and in the right environment- otherwise its just a recipe for a headache. Its sweet enough but with a rank indolent kick that cloys too quickly. While there are several species, L. japonicum is the most widely grown in America, and grows naturally in California and in the South. It is particularly well adapted to the Southeast, and becomes invasive from the Appalachians south to the Coast, growing in many forests and byways of the region. The plant itself forms a nice hedge and grows densely to screen out unwanted views. It is an evergreen, hardy to zone 5b.

The season marches on! Its nearing summer here and I’m still behind for May, but what does one expect for a month brimming with life?

Russian olive and relatives

Elaeagnus angustifolia. P. Breen. http://www.invasive.org.

For a genera that has produced several of the world’s noxious weeds, this happens to be one of my favorites for two reasons. The first is obviously the fragrance, or else I wouldn’t be writing about it, the second is that because its roots fix nitrogen- it can grow anywhere and remediate soil. For a small list of the invasive species in this genus: Silverberry, silverthorn, and Russian Olive are all covered here. The majority of the species is of Asian origin, save for a few species from The Caucuses and Southeast Europe around the Black Sea, and one species from North America. Also the majority are fragrant late spring to early summer bloomers, the one exception here being Elaeagnus pungens. The scent varies between species but it is always sweetly fragrant, often to the point of being a solid nasal knockout.

The most attractive species of the group is easily the Russian olive, Elaeagnus angustifolia. Its called the Russian olive as it was thought native to the area of Southern Russia and Georgia around the Black Sea, but actually is native to Western Asia and Iran. In any case, the tree has beautiful silver foliage, small fruits, and yellowish flowers that are abundantly sweet. The sometimes gnarled trunks often give it a look similar to olive trees from a distance, hence the name. It is also very drought tolerant, which is why it is invasive in the Southwest U.S., growing in many floodplains from Texas to California. The small fruits are edible and sweet, although mealy.

Elaeagnus umbellata. Nathan Soley. 2011. Phytoimages.siu.edu.

Next is Japanese silverberry, Elaeagnus umbellata. While this sometimes is a gnarled, small specimen tree in my hometown of Lexington, it is actually a noxious weed in several Southeastern states, and I can attest to it being a weed in Appalachian Kentucky as well. This tree happens to be a noxious weed in West Virginia, the next state over from me; and it grows everywhere there, filling the mountains with a very refined sweet odor in late April and early May. There happens to be one specimen growing outside Bluegrass Community and Technical College on Euclid Avenue, which sheds its scent all over the campus on a windy day. The scent is very sweet, almost overpowering, but not cloying, its similar to Gardenia, but more honey-like. The small tree is pretty when bedecked with flowers, but the flowers themselves are quite small, and the leaves not very attractive- thus its best feature comes down to soil rejuvenation, which is how it was introduced as a weed to begin with. The fruits are sweetly tart and edible, but small, and more likely to be eaten by birds first.

Elaeagnus pungens. Aleem. http://www.thelovelyplants.com.

Lastly, the thorny olive or Silverthorn, is another noxious weed of the southeast. It happens to bloom in fall, from September until November, but is easily the most fragrant of all the species, with a scent strongly resembling Gardenia. It makes a nice Landscaping plant in areas in Zones 7-9, including on beaches. The shrub grows prolifically, sending up long, vining branches out scrambling up trees and shrubs in its way. It needs serious pruning not to look gangly. The fruits produced are silverish and inedible, and the flowers are not quite conspicuous enough to be attractive, but the mysterious autumn scent is enough to look past its skid row countenance.

Invasive and noxious plants should obviously not be planted in areas where they are invasive, so do consider this if you are hoping to grow any of the species above. Otherwise, enjoy the wonderful scent!

 

Devilwood

Osmanthus americanus. http://www.quackingrassnursery.com.

While most of the entries this month focus on temperate plants that break the winter monotony, there are quite a few southern bloomers also gracing the countrysides, swamps, and gardens with their respective fragrances. Devilwood is one of them, and is our only native Osmanthus; a genus I’ve already written about, and one of my personal favorites. In addition to being called devilwood, its also known as wild olive, as its an Olive family relative, and produces leaves, flowers, and even fruits resembling olives. It grows shorter and less gnarled than the venerable olives of the Mediterranean, only eeking out thirty feet in its native environment. Its native to the deep South as well as parts of Mexico, but is hardy to zone 6b.

The reason why I included this particular Osmanthus apart from the species is that its one of the few that is hardy in my area, and is different enough in scent and flowering time than the rest of the species to deserve its own spot. The devilwood flowers in my area in late April, and like the rest of its relatives has a strong fruity scent, although this one is more charcoal-grilled peaches, whereas the others are strongly apricot. Its very definitive for an Osmanthus, being smoky, but still fruity, and it carries well on the wind. There are a few around Lexington, the best one being outside the UK greenhouse across the street from the Veterans Hospital. It blooms alongside a type of broom, and the scent combination of the two on the nose is pure paradise!

Osmanthus americanus. http://www.ncwildflower.org.

Also the flowers of this species are different in that they grow in axial spikes rather than terminal clusters like O. fragrans. The flowers are slightly larger however, and make more impact in bloom therefore.

Truth be told, the South has been neglected this month compared to the middle sections of the country. Plants in the south have had more time to bloom and are now beginning their summer displays, with gardenias and Asian jasmine scenting every garden from Miami to Houston to Wilmington, NC. I usually cover many southern bloomers later, as they are used for container plants in the North anyways, but I will always be jealous of their April Gardenia displays while we have to wait for June!

 

April edition of unexpected fragrance

Buxus sempervirens. http://forums2.gardenweb.com.

In a season of flowering and fragrant plants, evergreen shrubs often go unnoticed, but two shrubs catches the nose’s attention where the eye may not, and these are Boxwood and European Holly (Ilex aquifolia). They are quite wonderfully scented on warm sunny days in April, and attract a multitude of bees with their refined Tupelo honey scent. They bloom about the same brief window in late March and early April, and can be a very wonderfully unexpected fragrance when submerged in a season of olfactory pleasure. I know if I had not noticed the Holly blooming in Alabama and Arkansas during spring years ago, and boxwood blooming now at work, I would have not noticed myself. Both are wonderful evergreen fillers for a garden regardless of flowers, but sometimes the least noticeable flowers make the strongest impact (remember Osmanthus). Any ways, thought I would share this before moving on to more popular spring bloomers. Its amazing what one week of warm weather will do for Spring’s progression!

Early spring Magnolias

Magnolia stellata. A. Barra. Wikimedia commons.

Louise Beebe Wilder once said in her great book The Fragrant Path, that if she could only grow half a dozen shrubs in her garden, the Star Magnolia would be one of them. I echo her sentiments on this, as the frailty of the scent in this small tree is equal to none during its small window of bloom.  And by small, I mean it can last as little as two days! In a *normal* spring, the one that doesn’t exist in my part of the country, it can bloom up to three weeks, but generally the flowers are eeked out in early spring (as early as February sometimes) on the warmer days in between frosts. It is usually the most fragrant outdoor plant to bloom first in my part of the country, and usually in mid-March, but this year it took until the first week of April due to our long winter.

The fragrance is quite sweet, although light and in no way overbearing at any time. Its like the light essence of a perfume in an old-style ladies room or drawer, that is reminiscent of one’s grandmother in some way. It is an elegant, sweet, and spicy perfume that combines hyacinth and clove very lightly, with a dab of lilac, before getting to the Magnolia punch that one in the south assumes comes with the entire genus. Its just that early spring reminiscent smell that belongs together with the earliest of bulbs and a spring meadow of violets. The fragrance is quite nice on the wind, and will carry a small ways from a larger bush or tree.

Magnolia stellata is one of those wonderful early blooming Asian natives no winter and spring garden can be without, and from a genus that just does not disappoint! The flowers have an odd tendency to change color depending on the environment when they open, and can range in color from pearly white to lightly pink or purple. Finally, the majority of these early spring blooming Magnolias are deciduous, and the flowers proceed the light green leaves that don the plant the rest of the year.

Magnolia kobus var.borealis. Bruce Marlin. Wikimedia Commons.

It is said that Magnolia stellata may actually be a species of the Kobushi Magnolia, Magnolia kobus, and the resemblance is uncanny. The two are native to the same region of Japan, and the differences amount to size (M. stellata is usually a small shrub or tree and M. kobus can grow to be a medium-sized tree) and flowers. The flowers of Kobushi Magnolia are larger but with less tepals than the Star Magnolia, and with the same colors otherwise.The tree by the way puts on a knockout performance in its small window of bloom, and the entire plant is covered with the large stars of flowers that look like some odd sea creature with a bunch of tentacles. The fragrance is not quite as sweet as Star Magnolia, but does carry farther, and gives the surrounding yard a noticeable Hyacinth-like scent. Its more common to see this tree planted than M. stellata, and the University of Kentucky arboretum has a specimen right outside the main building.

There are other late winter and early spring blooming Magnolias that have a similar look and effect of the two above, including M. salicifolia, which aside from the leaves is nearly identical to M. kobus, and M. sprengeri which looks similar to the later blooming M. liliiflora hybrids.

Magnolia denudata. MiaRose. http://treejournalmcammisa2011.blogspot.com.

Yulan Magnolia blooms later than the other early spring blooming Magnolias, and often escapes the frosts that tarnish the blooms of the other Magnolias as well. Like M. kobus, Yulan Magnolia grows to be tree sized, and is immensely covered with flowers during its April bloom-window. The flowers are a bit larger, slightly yellowed, more appealing to the eye than the other Magnolias, and its scent is more lemon-pronounced as well. This is a tree that steal the shows in a finely landscaped yard, and makes for an impressive sight in well-manicured gardens! This species is from China, otherwise its nearly identical to its Japanese brothers. In the yard, these Magnolias should be given a good moist soil, a somewhat sheltered position, but with room to spread its roots. Not everyone has success with the blooms however, as one good frost is all it takes to wipe out the spring spectacle, and one dry summer to rob the plant of its life.

Well hopefully this starts a good dent in my catching up process. Next its onto violets before starting the mid-spring bulbs and flowering shrubs. Cheers!

Wrapping up subtropical winter bloomers

Clematis armandii. http://www.smgrowers.com.

Well its come time to bid farewell to our subtropical friends, as enough outdoor bloomers from the mid-latitudes are now getting going to catch my attention. Clematis armandii is yet another Chinese native, although it blooms a bit later than most of the prior plants in my list. About the time Pink Jasmine and Daphne are wrapping up, this sweet climber is putting all hands on deck. I saw a small one scrambling up some wall in Charleston, South Carolina, years ago on the same trip I saw Pittosporum, and was remembering what I had previously read about the vine from The Fragrant Path before I finally succumbed to my natural instinct to smell it. This clematis, like its brothers in the genus, is vanilla scented. This one is lighter and cleaner scented than Virginia bower, and scarcely less sweet than C. montana; but it is more attractive than any other plant in the genus I have seen to date! Hardy to zone 7 when sequestered in a warm spot, this is definitely a plant for a trellis or fence as its evergreen leaves provide visual interest regardless of the time of year. 

Armand clematis blooms its little heart out from late march until mid may, depending on where you live and how warm it gets. Its a good climber, growing up to 15 feet, but not nearly as aggressive as its brother plants, or as heavy as wisteria- so its certainly a liveable companion! Being a woodland inhabitant, it will take shade, but will be robbed of some blooms; although shade will be necessary for its survival in zones 9 and 10. The green leaves are certainly attractive, but too much or too little moisture tends to give them unsightly brown edges, as does too much sun in warm areas. Lastly, there are pink-flowered cultivars available of the genus, which would undoubtedly pair well with Pink Jasmine on a pergola.

Chimonanthus praecox. http://www.jparkers.co.uk.

There are quite a few other late winter bloomers that I have not covered, simply because I haven’t smelled them to give my honest opinion about them. Regrettably, I have not had the chance to smell the wintersweet, (Chimonanthus praecox) which is arguably the hardiest of the subtropical winter bloomers, and the most ethereal of them all. It is reported to be hardy to zone 7, but I have yet to have seen or smelt it anywhere. Its a small shrub with attractive deciduous leaves and a spicy fragrance resembling jonquils and violets according to The Fragrant Path. Its certainly more popular in its native China than here. Other fragrant winter bloomers include Sarcococca, sweet box or winter box, a genus with fragrant blooms in January that are very sweet but short-lived; Viburnum odoratissimum, another Asian bloomer, with a sweet Osmanthus-like fragrance; and Viburnum tinus, Laurustinus, native to the Mediterranean, with a wonderfully sweet fragrance, beautiful evergreen leaves, and a bloom period greater than six months during the dark times of the year.

There are undoubtedly others out there I am not aware of that I will surely find and smell in time. One thing is for sure, fragrance never truly takes a break around the world, even during winter. While those of us from the mid-latitudes have a break during the cold months, we get to relish our greenhouse visits and trips to the south that make every whiff count. With spring now at our doorstep, the southern plants will inevitably continue their bloom in frost-free splendor while fading out, but we northerners are just now beginning our long thaw, and anticipating the sweet bulbs of April. My nose has already sampled scents and are yearning to find more. The new season has begun, slowly spring begins its march towards the longer days of the year, and our senses await to be bombarded. You southerners may have the upper hand for now, but April and May are our months- just you wait!

 

Osmanthus

Osmanthus fragrans var. aurantiacus f. thunbergii. KENPEI. Wikimedia Commons.

My long list of Asian early spring bloomers for Southern gardens would be incomplete without this species. Osmanthus is often just a tuck-it-in somewhere bush that sends its fragrance scattering to the four winds, and leaves noses befuddled as to where such a heavenly scent could issue from. The flowers are so small, you could hold a handful of almost a hundred of them, and yet they more than compensate for their size with fragrance. The fragrance is overwhelmingly that of Apricot. Tovah Martin in The Essence of Paradise goes further and says “If you’ve ever indulged in freshly baked apricots swimming in honey, then you might have some inkling as to the intensity of the osmanthus’s nectar.” This is about as accurate as I could ever hope to detail about fragrance, and my nose is in agreeance.

Osmanthus is probably my favorite shrub of all time simply because of the fragrance of the flowers. Its hardy to zone 8, although it can squeak by in zone 7 if under a tall pine or against a warm south wall. The shrub itself is a nice evergreen that does well in part shade, and is an excellent understory plant for woodlands. I wouldn’t hedge them- as they bloom on old-wood, but that is certainly a possible idea for them. They are also good cool-greenhouse plants, but temperamental in windowsills unless you keep your house an even fifty degrees all winter and provide it a good draining medium. They also tend to not fill out well in greenhouses and homes, and are very slow growing- so I would save trying it at home unless you live in a warmer part of the nation and can grow it directly in the ground.

There are also a few other species that are commonly seen in The States, including our native- devilwood, (O. americanus) which I will detail in April when it begins to bloom here. Osmanthus delavayi, O. hetereophyllus, Osmanthus x burkwoodii and Osmanthus x fortunei are also cultivated in the southern tier of the states, but are not as fragrant as O. fragrans and more admired for their visual aesthetic often. They are however hardier, and easier to grow. Osmanthus delavayi can survive temperatures down to zero degrees Fahrenheit and are rarely planted as far north as my home state of Kentucky. This is a late-winter bloomer that knows how to make a show- having the largest flowers of the species (but not the most fragrant sadly.)

Osmanthus delavayi. http://plantmad.blogspot.com.

Most Osmanthus are cool season bloomers. I haven’t heard of any that bloom solely in summer yet- but some cultivars of O. fragrans will have a few sparse flowers in the summer heat. O. fragrans tends to have a long, drawn out show; starting its bloom period with the first cool autumn winds, and ending in late spring. In China and Japan where it is native- they often celebrate its bloom with various autumn festivals, and include it in their diet in the form of tea, liquers, and special cakes made from jam of the boiled down flowers.

I can only imagine deep in the forests of China during autumn how beloved these flowers are. With entire misty forests clouded in the fragrance of an early morning shower and osmanthus, its really no question why the Chinese love this plant so. What other fragrance on earth gives such a euphoria and images of paradise than this? Very few certainly.

Pittosporum

Pittosporum tobira. http://www.toptropicals.com.

I wish there were more days like today outside. If most March days are a spring tease, today was a Godsend of warmth! It was about 75 degrees earlier and I have the sunburns to show for my long day spent in the beautiful weather (actually it was work related, but still!) While warmth in March is quite brief (as a matter of fact- in only 24 hours it will be below freezing and snowing again) the warmth was enough for a few maples to start blooming- of which I will note their unique fragrance later. Days like today remind me that spring is very close- so I need to finish my subtropical winter weather bloomers quickly!

Pittosporum tobira is another one of those transplanted Asian winter bloomers that southerners will again enjoy out in the element; but of all the plants on the list- it is the easiest to grow in a pot. There are even variegated forms for the indoor gardener, and I’ve seen many of these outdoors in Florida as well. Practically a succulent, Pittosporum tobira grows on many beaches in the south, which was the first and only time I’ve seen this plant in bloom. A few years ago on a spring vacation trip to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina- I stumbled across a big group of Pittosporum tobira bushes on my way down to the beach, and couldn’t believe the scent coming from the flowers! While the plant is often called Japanese Mockorange, it should be called Mock Jasmine instead- as the flowers to my nose smell exactly like Jasmine tea. Others will say orange blossom or lillies; Tovah Martin in The Essence of Paradise said Easter lillies with baby powder and a touch of lemon. Either way, its definitely a good, sweet floral.

Pittosporum are yet another great landscape plant, and are a common sight along the Gulf Coast and in Florida. They are hardy to zone 9, perhaps 8b, and are another plant I would add if I had a southern garden of my own. They bloom outdoors from March through April, and in greenhouses from March until May. The flowers are a creamy white that age to a golden ochre before dropping, adding a visual pleasure to the olfactory one.

Pittosporum eugenioides. http://www.topseeds.co.nz.

Other Pittosporum species in America include many native to Hawaii. Many of the Pittosporum species are also fragrant/night fragrant, and others grown in the states include Pittosporum eugenioides, Pittosporum rhombifolia, and Pittosporum undulatum. Pittosporum undulatum is frequently grown in Mediterranean climates and is seen as a weed in many parts of the world, but it also has a knockout fragrance giving it the name Mock Orange. Pittosporum eugenioides is also heavily fragrant, almost like Cestrum nocturnum, but more chocolate-like. Its so strong, it makes all of Los Angeles partake of its essence during the late winter and early spring. I would have never known it was this plant that made LA smell so wonderful had I not happened to see it at Fairchild gardens back in January and was instantly transported back to LA by the fragrance. Smell is such a wonderful thing for memories, right?

Overall, this is another wonderfully fragrant family with great usage in the landscape and in the fragrance arena. Some of the seeds can make oil, and P. eugenioides has wonderfully lemon-scented leaves as well. So whether you live in California or Florida, go out and sniff out a Pittosporum for me!