Last Friday the Phactor failed to post a fabulous flower for a very interesting reason; the hotel internet cafe had their filter set way high and it denied access to my blog on the basis of its "adult" content. Well, this is hardly a kiddie blog; we are all adults and most of you act accordingly, but do you think it was the algal orgy or just the naked truth about sex (an attempt to pander for hits) that failed to filter? At any rate, today's fabulous flower buds look like eggs on a bush, and here to negate the adult status of this blog it is necessary to point out we mean egg as in bird egg, not egg as in gamete or sex cell. Oops! Both the Morris Arboretum and the Scott Arboretum have collections of magnolias, but given our early spring, the BGT was a bit late for their flowering. However the Oyama magnolia (Magnolia sieboldii) flowers later along with the sweet bay magnolia. The flowers are pendent and have quite striking whorl of red stamens to contrast with the creamy white perianth so they look quite good when viewed from below, which means this shrubby species will have to get fairly tall to afford you this view. Our 5 yr old specimen is 7-8 feet tall but has yet to flower. It seems marginally hardy in our area but did well with the just past mild winter (no die-back).
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