Mountain Horticultural
Crops
Research and Extension Center
Nursery Landscape Program
at Work
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Mountain Horticultural
Crops
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Magnolia
Research At the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension center in Mills River, NC, spring has arrived and many of our ornamental trees and shrubs have begun to bloom, including the beautiful Magnolia trees. Magnolia is a fascinating group of plants that possess a wide range of growth habits, hardiness, leaf forms, flower size, flower color and fragrance. With so many varieties and different forms of Magnolia available, NCSU tree breeders have been evaluating and developing strategies on how best to improve the Magnolia for our region and beyond. Some of the goals we currently have in mind include developing cold hardy evergreen forms with large, fragrant flowers and deciduous forms with delayed bloom times in order to prevent damage from late spring freezes. In order for these goals to become reality, tree breeders collect pollen from selected male parents possessing desired traits and transfer the pollen onto selected female parents possessing desired traits. Once the pollinations have been made, the flowers are bagged to prevent cross contamination from wind or insects that might be carrying pollen from related trees that have undesirable traits. If the cross is successful, the breeders will keep a close eye on fruit development and once it is ready harvest and extract seeds for sowing and seedling evaluation.
In addition to the nursery crops program faculty and technicians, Kevin Parris is currently working on breeding and genetics of magnolia for his PhD in a joint program between NC State and Clemson University.
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| Magnolia kobus var. loebneri 'Spring Snow' | Crosses protected by bags | Magnolia x loebneri 'Leonard Messel' |
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| Leonard Messel and Spring Snow | Spring Snow | Magnolia kobus 'Wada's Memory' |
Other Work in Progress |
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| Research plots at MHCR&EC |
Mountain Horticultural Crops Research & Extension Center
455 Research Drive
Mills River, NC 28759
Phone: 828.684.3562 ~ Fax: 828.684.8715
Web Crafter: Anne S. Napier ~ Email: anne_napier@ncsu.edu
Updated April 1 , 2009
