Magnolia grandiflora 'Gallisoniensis' Bush
Evergreen tree, usually branched from the ground. If it is allowed to grow spontaneously without pruning it will have a conical, spreading habit with quite sparse branches. If however it is pruned every year at the end of winter, as the nurserymen in Pistoia do, the branches become denser and the plant becomes a pyramid, regular, impenetrable; when planted in a garden it will keep its shape and will become a majestic tree. Leaves: evergreen, very large, 12-15cm long, leathery, from oval to elongate, glossy dark green, very shiny on the upper side, tinted with russet on the underside. Because they are so beautiful they are often used as house decorations, showing an exceptional resistance, almost as if they were plastic, to being mistreated by the interior decorators. Flowers: very fragrant and very large, 20-25cm wide, pure white, made up of 3-12 fleshy, concave petals, which when open reveal a rich tuft of yellow stamens. They grow singly on the ends of the external branches, intermittently from early June to the end of summer. These showy, soft, fragrant flowers have only one defect – they do not appear on the plant until after 9 or 10 years. Fruit: ovoidal, reddish, grouped along a central axis at 10cm. When the fruit is ripe it opens to release bright red, fragrant seeds. Growing requirements: grows well in cool, acid, siliceous soil, but also adapts to other soils, except not chalky ones.
