Friday Fabulous Flower - Oyama magnolia

Wow!  Just wow! A new magnolia in flower is just so exciting!

  Our Magnolia sieboldii, the Oyama magnolia, is several years old, a somewhat skinny shrub about six and a half to seven feet tall. It's winter hardiness has always been a worry, so TPP did not know what to expect after the severe cold this past winter. Surprisingly, there was no winter damage and it has produced a handful of flower buds; it's first flowering. As the buds enlarge, they shed the bud's outer layer leaving a flower bud that looks a bit like a pointed boiled egg.  When open the flowers are 3-4 inches in diameter and composed of 9 white tepals in three whorls of three. The many stamens are pink-red in color, and the outer most are larger and more petal-like.  The flowers are borne on the ends of branches and pendant, so you must walk under the plant and sort of look up to see how pretty the flowers are. Enjoy!