SPRING continues to warm our hearts this week with all the magic blossoms on display. Bright yellow wattles, pink peach blossom, white pear blossoms seem to be everywhere, or so it seems. One of my favourites the Mt Fuji cherry is just starting to open its buds ready for next week I'd reckon. One of the showiest flowering trees is breathtakingly beautiful this week all around town and that is of course the stunning magnolia. Its just a glorious time to be alive.This week we had some brilliant weather to get out into the garden. Have you managed to catch up with all your chores yet? Spring is a busy time for pruning. Check the health of all your trees now too.Of course one of my favorite trees are the magnolias. They are the stars of spring and they really do add fabulous value to any garden, especially our wonderful heritage homes here in the goldfields.As you drive around you will see small to medium sized trees covered with large cup shaped pink and purple to white flowers which are carried on bare stems before the leaves appear. When you see one stop and enjoy the beauty of their blooms. Many are fragrant tooThe bigger trees are magnolia x soulangiana and are just stunning with their magnificent display of creamy white flowers with pink bases.If you have a small garden magnolias are great. Their roots aren’t invasive so wont hurt your paving or edges. They are fast growing as well. They also keep their attractive shape all year round so they look good when not in flower. To get the best from your magnolia give it a rich well-drained soil with a heap of well-rotted manure. If you have our typical clay soil it will help to mound it up a bit to improve the drainage. They prefer slightly acidic soil but they’ll tolerate most soils unless they are really alkaline. A position with early morning sun is best but magnolias can endure full sun if you can keep them moist. They also do best if protected from strong, hot winds.Make sure you protect the young plants from frost. Snails and slugs enjoy magnolias too so make sure you look out fro them and deal with them appropriately. They will need water every week or so during the first few years to get them established especially during any hot days over summer.Light pruning may be needed to tidy up any odd straggly untidy branches. Once you get them established Magnolias are pretty much maintenance free. The only problem I find with magnolias is deciding which one to choose as they are all so beautiful. The other problem is limiting yourself to choosing just one.Mulch around them well as they have lots of surface roots that will benefit from the cover. Also avoid cultivating around them too much There are several species of magnolia and each has something special to offer. There are both deciduous and evergreen varieties including magnolia grandiflora, which flowers in late summer.Of the deciduous varieties magnolia stellata has to be one of the most popular. This beaut shrub or small tree is a great choice for a small courtyard because they generally only grow to three metres or so.Magnolia stellata royal star has slightly larger white flowers, king rose, rosea and rubra have varying depths of pink through to purple pink colours In winter to spring the silky buds unfurl to beautiful star shaped flowers.Magnolia soulangiana I mentioned before is a slightly larger tree growing to around 6 to 9 metres and has a graceful almost stately habit. This tree is a hybrid, bred some 200 years ago from Magnolia liliflora with its elongated purplish- pink flowers and magnolia denudate, a Chinese variety with large luxuriant flowers.The range of colours in Magnolia soulangiana is fabulous. The tulip-shaped flowers are revealed from silky buds during August and September and when fully open can reach up to 10cm across. When the petals fall, they form a pink petticoat on the garden around the tree. They make wonderful compost so you can enjoy them again!TOP TIPS

Magnolias prefer moist organic rich soil, so shovel in the compost before you plant them

There are deciduous varieties of magnolias which flower in spring and autumn

Magnolias are great for small gardens as they don’thave invasive roots

Choose one of the Magnolia stellata if you are looking for a small tree for a smaller space

Magnolias make great specimen trees. Make a bed or mulch the base so you don't damage their trunks with mowers.

At TOP hEDGE our horticulturists and green gardeners know all this and mulch more, so if you love your garden but never have enough time give us a call on 5330 1071, email via our website www.tophedge.com.au