seeds of Purple-magnolia, Magnolia liliiflora

Magnolia liliiflora, seeds of Purple magnolia

Magnolia liliiflora belongs to the family of the Magnoliaceae and is native to China. If one sees the beautiful flowers of M. liliiflora, one associates China with it. In Europe the plant is used as an ornamental plant. M. liliiflora is kind of famous because it is one of the parental species of the “Tulpenmagnolie”.
M. liliiflora grows as a shrub and reaches a height of 3 or 5 m. It is a very slowly growing plant. The leaves are simple and elliptic, they can get 10 cm long, sometimes a little longer. The venation at the bottom side of the leaves has some hairs on it. The leaves alternate at the stem.
The flowers of M. liliiflora are wonderful. They reach 13 cm in diameter. The leaves of the corolla are deep purple at the outside. At the inside they are a little lighter. The flowers do not open at the same times. So the shrub blooms for a longer time period. The flowers have a slightly pleasant odor. The stamens are also purple as well as the buts. The flowers are hermaphrodite. The fruit of M. liliiflora is a follicle that can get 3 to 5 cm long. It is dark red or brown when it is ripe. In the fruit are the seeds that are surrounded by an aril.

Cultivation from seeds
The seeds of Magnolia liliiflora should be put in warm water 24 to 48 h before planting. After that they can be put 1 cm deep into the substrate. The seeds in the substrate should then stand in the fridge for 3 to 4 month (stratification). The substrate has to be kept moist during that time. After stratification germination occurs best at a temperature of about 23°C.