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Don’t settle for one-note azaleas; go for the total package: PERFECTO

MUNDO® azaleas

Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Shrubs undertook the most extensive trial in their nearly 20-year history to select only the very best from hundreds of plants to make the Perfecto Mundo reblooming azalea series as perfect as possible. It combines lush, dense habits, pest and disease resistance, and flowers with beautifully saturated colors that put on an applause-worthy repeat performance for months, rather than just weeks.

Look for Perfecto Mundo azaleas in the distinctive white Proven Winners container at your local garden center, or learn more at PerfectoMundoAzalea.com cont’d. from page 4 around the house to soften corners.

With large pink flowers on stately trees, the saucer magnolia, Magnolia x soulangeana, dominates the magnolia popularity contest. However, saucer magnolias always seem to bloom right around the time we get a surprise spring frost, turning those gorgeous pink flowers brown. ‘Ann’ fixes that issue by blooming 2-4 weeks later than most saucer magnolias, usually well-past our last frost. While not a true saucer magnolia, the vibrant large pink flowers look pretty darn close. On top of the large lightly fragrant blossoms, ‘Ann’ only reaches about 10-12’ tall and wide, a great size for showy understory plantings.

Need an easy-going evergreen tree? The sweet bay magnolia, Magnolia virginiana, may be the tree for you. Creamy-white lemon-scented flowers bloom in May, much later than the typical magnolia. Large shiny green foliage with a silvery underside creates a stunning evergreen tree. Unlike most magnolias, the sweet bay magnolia tolerates wet and boggy soils, but may also be grown in average conditions. Ideal for softening corners, in the center of a rain garden, or as an anchor tree in a garden. Very similar to southern magnolias, Magnolia grandiflora, but much hardier in our area.

With all the wonderful hybridization that has happened with magnolias, we enjoy stellar varieties with fabulous flower colors – like yellow. ‘Yellow Bird’ magnolia bursts forth in spring with brilliant canary yellow blossoms. Pretty leaves adorn this attractive tree that grows 40’ tall. A cross between our Missouri native cucumbertree, Magnolia acuminata, and the lily magnolia, Magnolia liliflora. All yellow flowering magnolias have cucumbertree parentage as it is the only magnolia with yellow pigment.

In spring at the height of their bloom, magnolias are second to none, but what if we can enjoy that beauty again? ‘Genie’ magnolia blooms like a typical magnolia in spring but will repeat bloom in late summer if it’s been well watered. Not only do we get to enjoy the velvet red flowers once, but twice! Petite, growing about 1012’ tall and wide, ‘Genie’ fits easily into small gardens or around patios.

Most magnolias prefer moist but well-drained soils except for the sweet bay magnolia. They tolerate sun to part shade locations and if they’re in drier spots some afternoon shade is ideal. Once established magnolias are long-lived and easy-going. Only prune if necessary and do it right after flowering has ended. Their stunning flowers can last a lifetime and beyond. Plant a magnolia and leave a legacy of stunning flowers for the next generation.