(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- If you have a magnolia tree in your neighborhood, you can probably smell it blooming.
Julie Janoski, manager of the plant clinic at the Morton Arboretum, said the recent warm weather has helped get trees blooming. Previous rainfall also helps drive how robust the blossoming is, she said.
The arboretum’s 49 varieties come in pink, white and yellow, with varying petal sizes. She says their smells also have a range.
“No two flowers are really going to have the same scent. They may smell very similar, but it’s not based on flower color, it’s based on the pollinators they’re meant to attract,” Janoski said.
Those include beetles, bees and flies.
If you notice them smelling stronger during the day, she said, that’s because the magnolias are working to enchant those pollinators while they’re awake and flying.
A return of winter would be harmful, at this point.
“If we have a late frost, that can damage the petals on the tree, and then you’ve got sort of these nasty-looking flowers on the tree until the petals fall off,” she said.
If there is a freeze, you can try to cover your magnolia with a sheet but it depends on the size of the tree, Janoski said.
She and others at the plant clinic are there to take questions during the week by phone, email or in person.
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