It is magnolia time. All around there are lots of magnolias in full bloom, revelling in the mild weather. I am a little jealous because mine are still in bud but then this garden is always a few weeks behind gardens even half a mile away. Seeing them looking so nice encouraged me to while away a few hours while it was raining outside researching magnolias and I discovered the new and exciting Meganolia ®.

This is being heavily marketed and is available from lots of companies online. Before I go any further I must make clear that these photos are not mine but taken from the ‘net’ including T&M (Branded Garden Products Ltd). I assume these are provided, and owned by Heinje Baumschulen and I acknowledge their ownership.  This company has named the plant, and most suppliers use these images. If you want to sell a plant put a child in the photo.

I have complained about marketing of plants before and this is really just another example but with a slight twist.

The observant among you may have noticed the use of the word named, rather than raised. This is because this is not a new plant but a renaming of an existing plant.

It is being marketed by Heinje Baumschulen who say on their website: ‘This new rarity grows to a height of approx. 5 metres…’ ‘Meganolia®’: This plant is subject to variety protection (‘JURmag2’). Propagation and further commercial cultivation are prohibited!’

But that ‘JURmag2’ bit is rather important. That is the patented, and correct cultivar name, for a plant that is usually called FELIX JURY. (I have a problem here because this selling name should be in Helvetica font, without quote marks but I can’t do that on this page so I will use caps to differentiate it from the text)

FELIX JURY is a huge magnolia, raised in New Zealand by Mark Jury (who also raised many more, including  BLACK TULIP ‘JURmag1’ and BURGUNDY STAR (TM) ‘JURmag4’ ).  It was named for his father and is a hybrid of ‘Atlas’ and ‘Vulcan. It is a small or medium tree and flowers from an early age with deep pink flowers up to 35cm across.

This all seems very complicated but there is a difference between a trademark and PBR. The latter is like a patent.

A PBR plant can be marketed under any name. 

The official Plant Patent Application for ‘JURmag2’, published on 8/7/2004 states: 

‘A new and distinct cultivar of magnolia named ‘Felix’ comprised of strong plant growth, upright and open; flowering as a young plant within 2 years of planting out, a long heavy flowering season; strongly fragrant individual flowers lasting about 9 days, ovate and large buds, external surface is typically pubescent and dark grey in colour, opening in a typical manner of all deciduous magnolias’

‘The new cultivar was isolated by the inventor Mark C. Jury at North Taranaki in New Zealand, by seedling selection following controlled pollination of the maternal parent Magnolia Atlas (unpatented) with the paternal parent Magnolia Vulcan (unpatented). The cross was made in 1986.‘

Thompson & Morgan describe it thus: 

This mega magnolia delivers a flamboyant fanfare to the arrival of spring. Magnolia ‘Meganolia’ * carries enormous goblet-shaped blooms which stretch up to a gobsmacking 30cm across. The deep pink, double blooms are colour intense and sturdily built, resisting the wind and staying on the tree for a long time.  *(it is curious that T&M ignore the ®)

I think this demonstrates a couple of things. Firstly, don’t moan about botanical names. They may seem hard to learn but, with a few exceptions, they don’t change and there is a reason for them other than financial gain. And secondly, don’t believe everything you read.

I was going to put this post to bed when I was checking details and discovered INKARHO® rhododendrons being marketed as HAPPYdendron® . Now these are great developments because they are lime tolerant. But, to balance the old post about escallonia ‘Pink Elle’ I need to show this. I am not sure if this is creepy or sexploitation. Oh Dear!

I need to add a caveat here. I have tried to be as accurate as possible but if I have made a mistake in the correct spelling, font or technical accuracy of the plant names I will correct it immediately.

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