2025 – CHW
The Canadians tour Burncoose on an overcast day.
Prunus incisa ‘Kojo-no-mai’ looking exceptional by the till at Burncoose.
Cornus officinalis just going over but a much larger flower than Cornus mas.
Camellia japonica ‘Margaret Davis’ in the nursery car park. Perfection!
Camellia japonica ‘Dr. Burnside’ with its very variable flowers and huge yellow antlers. Also very good.
Then back to Caerhays and more new magnolias.
Lapageria rosea ‘Flesh Pink’ still has 2 flowers.
Magnolia ‘Lily Diva’.
Magnolia ‘Angelica’.
Magnolia ‘Joe McDaniel’.
Magnolia dawsoniana ‘Valley Splendour’. Not many flowers yet but very good.
Magnolia ‘Anya’.
Magnolia ‘Joker’. We will shortly see another plant which has the same shape of flower but which is much darker. Not unusual in young plants and the colour can and does change with age.
Magnolia ‘Black Tulip’ x M. ‘Serene’.
2024 – CHW
A trip to Old Park to see newer later flowering magnolias.The dwarf growing Rhododendron canadense just coming out.
A trip to Old Park to see newer later flowering magnolias.The dwarf growing Rhododendron canadense just coming out.
Magnolia ‘Elisa Odenwald’ has one white flower. This is a Todd Gresham hybrid between M. x soulangeana ‘Lennei Alba’ and M. x veitchii. Far too like so many other Gresham hybrids.
Magnolia ‘Champaign’ is a M. x loebneri hybrid.
Early flowers opening on Magnolia ‘Tikitere’.
Magnolia ‘Sulphur Cockatoo’ is exactly the same cross as M. ’Elisa Odenwald’ above. This ones seems smaller growing and the flowers are at least a decent size at a young age.
Magnolia ‘Livingstone’ is M. sprengeri var. ‘Diva’ x M. ‘Vulcan’ and a very good thing bred by Ian Baldick in New Zealand.
Magnolia pseudokobus ‘Kubishi-modoki’ nearly out.
What growth the Gunnera manicata bed has made in a week. Huge flower heads now as well.
Magnolia x soulangeana ‘Fukuju’ is also known as M. x soulangeana ‘Nakamura Ho’ (480). A new one to us that appears to be flowering, time to name even if nothing special really. On the bank with the Camellia sasanquas
A rather wind battered and struggling Rhododendron morii above the gunnera bed.
The last camellia in flower on the sasanquas bank is Camellia ‘Spring Fling’ .
Annoyingly the label has gone from this M. x loebneri below White Styles.
2023 – CHW
Today a viewing of the magnolias flowering on Old Park. Two flowering here for the first time and a third which is new to the Burncoose catalogue.Magnolia ‘Frank Gladney’ planted in 2002.
Today a viewing of the magnolias flowering on Old Park. Two flowering here for the first time and a third which is new to the Burncoose catalogue.Magnolia ‘Frank Gladney’ planted in 2002.
Magnolia ‘Crimson Stipple’ (M. soulangeana ‘Lennei Alba’ x M. veitchii). Also 2002 planted.
First flowering at Caerhays of the new and exciting Magnolia ‘Emperor’. Now in the Burncoose catalogue and certain to be popular in the future. Planted in 2021. Should have put this where more people will see it.
Magnolia ‘Pickard’s Opal’.
Magnolia ‘Watermelon’ – another good new magnolia flowering for the first time.
Magnolia ‘Sybille’ – new to the Burncoose catalogue but less distinct and impressive.
Magnolia ‘Angelica’ – odd shape but nothing that special.
Another larger plant of the highly scented Magnolia ‘Rebecca’s Perfume’.
The swan on its new nest in much the same spot as last year. Well concealed.
Frankie has cleared the fallen tree on Bond Street and tidied up the path.
A tidy up on the top path in Old Park as well.
2022 – CHW
Planted the last of the rhododendrons today – several groups of scented ones and a dozen or so large growing species from Rookery Nursery.
Camellia x williamsii ‘Delia Williams’ along from the front door.
First flowers on our young Camellia trichocarpa – heavily scented.
Camellia japonica ‘Kramers Supreme’
Camellia ‘Lulu Belle’
Camellia ‘Scentuous’ x Camellia lutchuenensis
A nice plant of the unusual white form of Rhododendron racemosum goes in by Georges Hut. A hint of pink as the flowers die away.
Lindera umbellata nicely in flower.
Michelia doltsopa and Michelia floribunda flowers held together for comparison.
Rhododendron canadense flowering well with no new growth yet showing.
Two lots of new rhododendrons set out and planted today. Here are three Rhododendron fortunei above Higher Quarry Nursery.
Here some azaleas and rhododendron species in the Ririei Opening.
The two Magnolia x veitchii ‘Peter Veitch’ at their absolute best.
Magnolia sprengeri var. sprengeri (84329) was wild collected and given to us by Jim Gardiner.
Rhododendron hyperythrum ‘Omo’ AM coming into flower.
Rhododendron ‘Cornish Red’ and Magnolia dawsoniana.
Magnolia ‘Genie’ is nearly black in bud. Far better than M. ‘Black Tulip’.
2021 – CHW
I am now in a muddle over the naming of PRUMNOPITYS species which are members of the Podocarpus family.
I had thought this was one of our two plants of Prumnopitys andina (Podocarpus andinus) but, when I google it, it comes up as Prumnopitys taxifolia.
This small tree growing here is labelled Prumnopitys taxifolia (Podocarpus spicata) which is so radically different that they cannot both be right?
I photographed Prumnopitys taxifolia at Ventnor Botanic Garden and it is the same plant as ours that I had previously thought was P. andina. What a muddle. The Conifer Dictionary (Derek Spicer) with all its wonderful pictures has none on these two species which are described a little vaguely and there is no reference to the bare and leafless winter stems on our P. taxifolia.
Young lambs in White Styles.
The strikingly coloured Magnolia ‘Sunsation’ is just out.
This is what I thought was Melicytus crassifolius but the tiny flowers are light pink and not yellow as they seem to be in the reference books. I cannot find online any other species of Melicytus with flowers that are this colour (rather than yellow). The leaf looks however about right even if chubbier and larger than on our other plant of, supposedly, the same species.
Magnolia dawsoniana ‘Chyverton Red’ just out and splendid below Slip Rail.
One of the original Magnolia campbellii alba now full out.
Camellia ‘Dream Boat’
Magnolia ‘Felix Jury’ in Kennel Close.
March ’21: The two Podocarpaceae aren’t the same; Prumnopitys taxifolia shall have leaves about one centimeter long, apex obtuse with a short bristle. The plant with shorter leaves and yellow twigs resembles Podocarpus cunninghamii (syn. hallii, poss. laetus too) The other plant with longer leaves, tapering to apex, is clearly a real Podocarpus. Decisive are leave apex and terminal buds. Terminal bud looks similar to Brazilian Podocarpus lambertii (round, green, no spikes protruding), leaves up to 6-8 cm long, not very prominent midvein.
The lower pictures are typical for Prumnopitys taxifolia in youth stage; a muddle of twigs, nearly leafless, leaves discoloured.
Bark of Prumnopitys andina is smooth and grey, even on thirty year old trees, n o t brown. I hope this helps, greetings.