Magnolias prefer- and our magnolias get- sunlight for only about half the day. This isn’t hard here in a deep valley, but our magnolias are also surrounded by other taller trees that give them dappled shade in the worst of midsummer.

They are also protected from hot, dry winds, which again is something that happens anyway, much of the time at least, here in the valley, as well as by their neighbouring lemon trees, which are excellent wind breaks but also prevent us getting a decent view of the magnolias from the house. I thought the magnolias would grow taller than the lemons when I put them there, but they didn’t. (I warned you I know little about magnolias). I was probably thinking of Magnolia grandiflora. The Magnolia grandiflora down by the chook house has grown so large we need to stand back 100 metres to admire the thick dinner plate white flowers. Magnolia grandiflora are evergreen, and very very big.

Which brings me to the next essential when growing magnolias. Read the label. The label will tell you how tall this particular plant grows, how wide, if they lose their leaves in winter or are evergreen, what they need and when they’ll bloom, as well as what the flowers and leaves will look like. And there are many, many magnolias to choose from. There are even some quite small courtyard or patio types , but, once more, as I don’t know the names of any I can’t pass on the information, except those small, neat magnolias are out there, somewhere, and that ‘somewhere’ is probably as near as the next good garden centre, preferably one that has enough trolleys so once you are there you can keep adding everything you fall in love with. Warning: a garden centre in spring can be tempting indeed.

Plant your magnolias in the usual ‘twice as deep and twice as wide’ as the pot they come in, so their roots have room to spread out and down. Add some handfuls of water retaining crystals- they are going to need them this summer, even if you water your new shrubs twice a week, as you will need to. Our magnolias have proved deeply hardy- but their roots had a chance to grow deeply too, before the bushes had to show their toughness.

Actually moister climates than ours have one of the great magnolia chompers, snails. If by any chance you are in an area of Australia where ‘the rain it falleth every day’, or at least once a week, put pellets out in a taped down empty butter or ice-cream container, where the snails will get them but nothing else- and the snails will also kark it safely away from anything that will eat them. You can also try tree banding grease or other barriers to stop snails, earwigs et al climbing up the trunk.