My 'Edith Bogue' Southern Magnolia has grown wonderfully! It has gained over 2 feet in the past several months. I planted it back in early May. The tree was about a little over 3 foot tall. When in the pot it was just under 5 foot. (Don't always take into account the size once it's planted 😂). Now we are in September it has pretty much stopped growing except the leaves that have already emerged are getting bigger slightly. It has been from 90°F for highs to 60°F for highs in nearly a 2 week time. We had several days in the 90s then highs in the 60s and 70s. This I believe stunted the growth after having consistent temps in the upper 80s and 90s everyday, to well, the transition from summer to fall. Hot days to cool days back to hot days. September in Indiana is what I call a transition month. You will still see hot August like heat at times, and you will also see October or even November like temps all in the same month. Even when plants appear to not be growing. They are not necessarily dormant. When a plant is on a cycle of having certain weather for a long time the plant acclimates to those conditions. When there is a sudden shift in climate this can shock the plant. Rarely if ever harms it, it just stunts it's growth. Which is why in late summer or early Fall before plants go dormant from cold weather they usually either significantly slow growth or slow so much they appear to not be growing. This is very normal and is just apart of a plant's natural cycle. So back to my tree, it stunted growth a couple weeks ago, probably around late August or so when it start going from really hot and dry to hot and mild with more rain. Now all the 90s are over and temps have been steady between 70°F-80°F for highs and lows between 50°F-65°F instead of 65°F-75°F. I think it is done growing new leaves for the year, but the younger leaves still have some expanding and stiffening to do before the tree actually goes dormant. It is now almost as tall as me and I am slightly over 5' 10" tall.
It has performed so well this summer! I did heavy mulching around the trunk for better water retention to help from transplanting, and to have winter protection this winter. I have been soaking the base with a hose 1-2 times per week in the hottest parts of the summer. Once established watering it is not necessary, even in drought. I will not be giving it any winter protection besides the excessive mulching around the base for it's first year only. Once it establishes I will do normal mulching and leave mulch away from the trunk to prevent Volcano mulching which can kill trees. I won't talk about that in this post though.
I hope y'all found this post interesting and or useful! Feel free to leave any questions or comments if you have any. Thanks! 🌱🌳
NatureMan
No comments:
Post a Comment