Magnolia ‘Inspiration’ is a beautiful small tree, reaching only 8-10 feet at maturity.
Photos courtesy of Mark Leichty
I found a beautiful evergreen tree a couple years ago at West Seattle Nursery that I simply had to buy. I’ve got a big garden with lots of room to tuck in a small tree, so why not? It turns out that my Michelia yunnanensis ‘Inspiration’ is now one of my favorite trees in the garden, though since I planted it, I’ve learned that it has been reclassified as Magnolia laevifolia (syn. yunnanensis) ‘Inspiration’. A Michelia by any other name smells as sweet, though, right? In early spring, the tree is shrouded by a cloak of deliciously fragrant white flowers which last for several weeks to a month, depending on weather conditions. As the season progresses, the white petals fall away, leaving behind brown seed cones, which mature through the summer and fall.
The large white flowers of Magnolia ‘Inspiration’ fill the garden with a wonderful fragrance in early spring.
Magnolia ‘Inspiration’ is the perfect tree for a small yard. In a front yard, it is an eye-catching specimen that will have passers-by stopping to ask, "What is that beautiful tree?" It’s a great choice for an intimate patio setting. Its canopy offers year-round privacy screening and the fragrant flowers add a great aroma to a spring dinner party on the back patio. I would pair it with a Sauvignon Blanc, perhaps Kim Crawford. My ‘Inspiration’ is definitely growing into a tree form, with a clear trunk and branches. It can also be grown in shrub form. I personally like the tree form because it allows for underplanting of your favorite shade perennials, like small hostas such as ‘Blue Mouse Ears’ or low-growing ferns like Asplenium trichomanes or Blechnum penna-marina. Small daphne varieties like ‘Lawrence Crocker’ would extend the season of fragrance and remain evergreen. Magnolia ‘Inspiration’ and the companion plants I’ve suggested will all thrive in a soil pH from 6-7.5 and will appreciate regular summer water and mulching.
Why grow Magnolia ‘Inspiration’?
It’s a beautiful small specimen tree for confined spaces, reaching only 8-10 feet tall at maturity.
It’s evergreen, with dark green, glossy leaves.
It has beautiful milky-white fragrant flowers in early spring.
Mark Leichty is the Director of Business Development at Little Prince of Oregon Nursery near Portland. He is a certified plant geek who enjoys visiting beautiful gardens and garden centers searching for rare and unique plants to satisfy his plant lust. mark@littleprinceoforegon.com
‘Irish Lace’ is a hybrid of ‘Lady in Red’ (H. macrophylla x H. serrata) and H. angustipetala.
Photos courtesy of Michael A. Dirr, Thompson & Morgan, and Monrovia
It’s certainly not a household word in the world of commercial hydrangeas, but it’s worth integrating into a breeding program. This, along with H. luteovenosa and H. scandens, offer unique traits not available from H. macrophylla and H. serrata.
All produce lacecap inflorescences, fertile flowers with yellow stamens; sepals few and white. Flowers are produced from the nodes, the entire length of the shoot, late April-early May (in Athens, Ga.), before H. macrophylla. My original premise was to utilize this flowering trait with the mophead inflorescences of H. macrophylla to develop hybrids with the appearance of brussel sprouts. Successful hybridization was achieved integrating/introgressing H. angustipetala and H. luteovenosa but not H. scandens with H. macrophylla, although the latter combination was successful by another breeder. Our original premise about the potential hybridization was based on the molecular work of Dr. Tim Rinehart at the USDA Agricultural Research Service.
We believed H. angustipetala offered the greatest opportunity for improvement because of the larger, pest free, bright green, frost/freeze tolerant foliage, which ranges from deciduous, semi-evergreen to evergreen. On March 5, 2006, Dr. Josh Kardos (at that time a University of Georgia Ph.D. candidate), Mark Griffith and I visited Crug-Farm nursery in Caernarfon, Wales, to better understand the variation in H. angustipetala. The owners, Bleddyn and Sue-Wynn Jones, graciously toured us through the nursery. They are intrepid plant collectors who have traveled the globe in search of horticultural treasures. In their garden, nestled in the snow, was a healthy grass-green (perhaps evergreen?) specimen of H. angustipetala. Taxonomically it is impossible to comprehend the variation with Crug-Farm offering approximately 19 wild-collected accessions from Taiwan and Japan including f. formosa, f. macrosepala, f. obovatifolia and Yakushima. I viewed flower photos of all on the web site (www.crug-farm.co.uk), and the common denominator was the yellow-stamen fertile flowers and the white sepals. Flowers are fragrant to various degrees. Sepals were borne 3 to 5 in a cluster, serrated, incised, or entire, elongated to rounded, from few to many surrounding the fertile flowers.
H. angustipetala Golden Crane is a selection from Dan Hinkley that he found in China.
Some were collected from elevations between 7,000 and 8,000 feet, so it’s possible they are cold hardy. One accession was 10 feet high, taller than anything typically stated in the literature. The trip offered great insight into the nature of the species but left us frustrated with little to no hope of bringing these plants to the states.
Flora of China consolidates H. angustipetala under H. chinensis, describing the latter as a common and widespread taxon that forms a species complex from which a number of segregate species have been recognized. It occurs in sparse to dense forests on mountain slopes, mountain tops and in valleys up to 6,600 feet elevation.
GRIN (Germplasm Resources Information Network) does not list H. angustipetala, but legitimizes H. chinensis. The RHS Plant Finder 2018 lists the species as H. scandens subsp. chinensis f. angustipetala. Who/what to believe?
Hydrangea angustipetala (99116) has been available in the U.S. via Dan Hinkley’s collection efforts, and other clones have surfaced. His original accession is still in my possession and green as grass after 22.7°F on Dec. 6, 2018.
The sepals of ‘Irish Lace’ are streaked and mottled with green.
The ‘Lady in Red’ (extremely hardy H. macrophylla × H. serrata introduction) × H. angustipetala selection named ‘Irish Lace’ is evergreen and as cold hardy as the Hinkley accession. The foliage of the hybrid is similar to H. angustipetala but the sepals are streaked and mottled with green. The foliage of every H. macrophylla and H. serrata was killed at this temperature. Unfortunately, the pom-pom stemmed hybrid did not materialize as the breeding only proceed to the F1 generation and, with two lacecaps as parents, it was an impossibility. To achieve the brussel sprout goal, ‘Irish Lace’ or the Hinkley H. angustipetala should be crossed with mophead H. macrophylla. See “Production and verification of Hydrangea macrophylla x H. angustipetala hybrids” HortScience 44 (6): 1534-1537. 2009 for full details.
Hydrangea Runaway Bride ‘Snow White’ from Thompson & Morgan was named RHS Chelsea Flower Show Plant of the Year in 2018.
Recently, my interest in H. angustipetala was rekindled with the introduction of Runaway Bride ‘Snow White’, which appears to have H. angustipetala as one parent. In The Plantsman New Series 17 part 3: 184-185 (2018), it is described as “Runaway Bride Snow White develops a graceful weeping habit, 4 feet by 4 feet, white lacecap flowers are borne along the length of the shoot, continuing later in the season. Bred by Ushio Sakazaki, Osaka, Japan, this is the prototype for a completely new category of hydrangea.” It was awarded the prestigious Plant of the Year at the 2018 Chelsea Flower Show and was introduced by Thompson and Morgan in the U.K.
In our University of Georgia breeding, we were so focused on developing remontant/reblooming mophead H. macrophylla that we did not envision a future for a more refined, elegant hydrangea. Although Runaway Bride is a lacecap, I surmise breeders are at the work bench developing mophead and/or larger lacecap types with pink-rose-red sepals. Tunnel vision can be both positive or negative in a breeding program. The fact another breeder succeeded with our original premise suggests we may have been ahead of the market. NM
For more than 40 years, horticulturist, breeder, and author Michael A. Dirr has impacted the green industry through research, teaching, books, and plant introductions. michirr@aol.com
Willoway Nurseries is one of the stops on the 2019 Nursery Production Tour.
Matt McClellan
Cultivate'19 Nursery Production Tour preview
Supplement - Cultivate ‘19
Tours provide opportunities to learn from peers and see new technology in action.
The first stop on this tour is the Ohio Agricultural and Research Development Center (OARDC) in Wooster, Ohio, where participants will see a demonstration of a new, cutting-edge water and fertilizer injection system for nurseries.
The next stop is Willoway Nurseries for a real-world example of how the OARDC injector system has been integrated into their operations. Besides the injector system, participants will also tour the grounds of the nursery. Willoway is a third-generation, family-owned business that operates 550 acres of field production and 450 acres of container stock, which includes 32 acres of climate-controlled greenhouses.
A tour of Davis Tree Farm and Nursery’s tree and shrub production rounds out the day. Founded in 1989 by Mike Davis, the nursery encompasses 160 acres, including 15 acres of container production utilizing pot-in-pot systems. Davis Tree Farm and Nursery also operates more than 50 high tunnels for overwintering container plant material.
Too many times at trade shows I wonder why some people are exhibiting. Based on some of their behavior, I’m not always sure if they even are exhibitors. Companies exhibit at trade shows to make money. So here are some do’s and don’ts to make the best out of your company’s trade show experience.
Wear your badge where it can be seen. Your potential customers want to know your name and location.
Have plenty of business cards available in the booth, as well as brochures if you have them. No one can buy from you if they don’t know what you are selling or how to reach your company.
Do not sit on a chair with your back to the people walking by. That says you aren’t interested in customers.
Stay off of your phone unless you are looking for something specific to show a customer. I went to a vendor’s booth that I purchased from every year because I needed a new catalog. When I walked up to the booth, the two sales reps were on their phones with their back to the booth. One turned around, looked at me and went back to his phone. I bought over $28,000 worth of trees that year and I didn’t buy trees from them ever again.
Do not eat in the booth unless you are left alone and have no choice. I walked past a booth earlier this year and all four members of a company were in their booth eating. Not one looked up, which told me that they didn’t care about customers. Take turns eating, preferably at a table near food vendors.
If you have to leave your booth, leave a sign that says, “Back in 15 minutes.” I have seen some booths that were set up but never occupied by the exhibitor even though I went back several times over a two-day period.
Say hello and smile. Look people in the eye. Shake their hand. There’s nothing like a good handshake to tell a potential customer that you are interested in doing business with them.
For a long time, this industry has been male oriented, but now there are almost as many women who own businesses whether it be a greenhouse, garden center nursery or allied business. They might be someone’s wife or daughter, but they are there for the same reason as everyone else — looking for new products/equipment. Never assume.
If you are a company owner and not attending the show, you should set some goals for your staff. Introducing a new product? Increasing sales? Product demonstrations? All of these should be discussed long before they leave for the convention. Training for a trade show is just as important as being there.
If you have someone who is a real “people person” but not necessarily a sales person, consider sending them to the show to make the first contact with customers.
If you are selling your booth, have one person in charge so it is orderly at the end of the show.
At the end of the show follow up on the leads you get whether they are small or large. You have a 10% attrition rate each season, so these leads are your lifeline to future success.
Q: When is the ideal time to start a succession plan?
A: Today. It’s more than just the succession of the company, it’s the succession of the roles that each of the employees currently play within the organization. My take on succession planning is ‘tactically, what are we doing to make sure that we have the most competent people in those roles that are needed and what’s plan B in case they leave? And strategically, what’s the strength of the organization overall if I were to look to sell it?’
Q: What should business owners do to prepare?
A: Business owners can study because there’s plenty of stuff online. They can engage with a professional who is able to help navigate the choppy waters of succession planning if it involves family members because that can become chaotic. Navigating the waters of family is a unique skill set for somebody to help with, which I do specialize in. Family dynamics relating to the succession and sale of a business becomes chaotic because at that point, you become part psychologist, strategist, consultant and consoler. If it’s a business with no family involved and someone wants to maximize their sale price, then they should lean more toward a financial planner, attorney or business broker. The road you’re on depends on who you’d chose to help prepare.
Q: What’s a common mistake when crating a plan?
A: Bringing emotion to the game plan. It’s difficult to separate the business from the person, especially in the horticulture industry because a lot of folks have been in it for years and they’re emotionally connected. At some point, the business becomes an emotional child in the family, but everything is a business decision. The most challenging part is trying to extract emotion from the equation.
Q: How often should business owners review and/or change the plan?
A: No less than annually, but it would be more advantageous if it was biannually.
Q: Why do you advise that time frame?
A: Things change, economies shift, employees leave, markets adapt and some folks often wait until it’s too late. A lot of things can change in a year and if you’re only looking at things on an annual basis, you’re missing trends that are happening right in front of you. I advise my clients to meet every six months to discuss where they are, their game plan, what needs to change and what needs to be added. We discuss this in three steps called “start, stop and continue.” What should we start doing that we’re not doing now? What should we stop doing since it’s not working, and what should we continue doing based on the fact that it is working?
Q: Are there different challenges in the nursery industry compared to other industries that make succession planning more difficult?
A: Yes. The horticulture industry is more often a family-owned and operated small business. As stated before, the business becomes another family member. Sometimes the next generation is great and sometimes they’re not the right fit. Having the same last name doesn’t automatically make them the best candidate to take the business to the next level, so it’s important to understand and acknowledge this to maintain success.
Want To Go? “Putting Success in Your Succession Plan” Monday, July 15, 9:45-10:45 a.m., Short North Ballroom A
John Kennedy is a well-known speaker, author and consultant to the horticulture industry. As the owner of John Kennedy Consulting, he’s proficient in enhancing both personal and professional lives, and will discuss tips on creating a succession plan that’s not only built to sell, but built to last.
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