If you live in the Vancouver area, this upcoming weekend is likely the last "good" weekend to see the magnolias in bloom at UBC. Many trees will still be in flower, but I think the peak blooming period is nearly over.
This cultivar is one generation removed from seed of Magnolia sprengeri collected by Ernest Wilson in Hubei, China in 1901. Of the seed collected and distributed to Caerhays Castle in Cornwall, one individual plant produced flowers and seeds; this plant goes by the name of either Magnolia sprengeri var. diva or M. sprengeri 'Diva', depending on your reference. Magnolia sprengeri 'Copeland Court' is one of many seedlings of Magnolia sprengeri 'Diva' that have become named cultivars. Douglas Justice has described this plant as "a small to medium-sized tree with a symmetrical, spreading habit and ample, uniformly deep, clear-pink flowers".
Botany / photography resource link: I included it in yesterday's post, but it deserves to be highlighted. Calflora.net, by Michael Charters, is titled humbly as the "Home Page of California Plant Names: Latin and Greek Meanings and Derivations and Southern California Wildflowers", but it is oh-so-much more. Nearly 2000 photographs of southern California wildflowers are supplemented by web pages on topics such as southern California wild places, immensely valuable field trip logs (which I'm going to start doing when I go on field trips this year) and a glossary of botanical terms.
beautiful gift from good to loving peoples
Vegetative propagation of original Caerhays 'Diva' at Washington Park Arboretum, Seattle like illustration in Johnstone, ASIATIC MAGNOLIAS IN CULTIVATION and not like "trade" form given by Gossler Farms, Springfield, OR and planted nearby. (Both are well-developed specimens, quite past the point of having atypical flowers of young tree). Judging from its appearance and not knowing how it was acquired UBC accession shown at link above appears to be same "trade" form in commercial circulation in North America, which should probably be called Magnolia sprengeri var. sprengeri (to differentiate it from M. sprengeri var. elongata):
..."the pink form with leaves less than twice as long as wide is treated here as typical M. sprengeri var. sprengeri. Magnolia sprengeri var. diva is then a synonym of this variety. The original tree at Caerhays, pictured in Stapf's description of M. sprengeri var. diva, should be designated as M. sprengeri 'Diva'. ONLY VEGETATIVELY PROPAGATED CLONES FROM THIS TREE ARE INCLUDED IN THIS CULTIVAR DESIGNATION. SEEDLINGS OF THE CAERHAYS PLANT ARE VARIABLE SO CANNOT CARRY THE CULTIVAR NAME (caps. mine)." - Callaway, WORLD OF MAGNOLIAS (1994, Timber Press)
Ron - thanks - that's good to know. The plant we have on that linked page is sourced via Gossler Farms. I'll pass along the nomenclatural issue along to Douglas.
Really beautiful!