Magnolia blooms will enhance any garden
What a splash of color the deciduous magnolias make. These wonderful trees or large shrubs are prized worldwide for their exquisite flower and majestic form. They produce a parade of showy blooms that perfume the garden with flowers that often are present before the leaves, making them grace the tree in an impressive manner. Some magnolias can grow quite large while others that have come along in more recent years are smaller in size.
Deciduous magnolias, sometimes called tulip trees, can be used as a focal point in the garden or used in a grouping for a dramatic show. I have even seen them pruned into a hedge for a completely different effect. Now, with some of the smaller ones, they can be tucked into almost any space.
One drawback to this plant is that some varieties bloom quite early in the South and the flowers can be bitten by a late freeze while in bloom. Because of this problem, breeders like Augie Kerr, Dennis Ledvina, Tom Ranney and Kevin Parris have worked, and others are continuing to work, to produce varieties of deciduous magnolias that will bloom just a few weeks later and miss the occasional late frost. Some of these newer varieties can be found at specialty garden centers or online.
There are several different kinds of deciduous magnolias that are readily available in garden centers. I will group them into four categories for simplicity: Star magnolia (M. stellate), the saucer magnolias (M. x soulangeana), the Girl Series, and today there is a new group I will just call complex hybrids.
The first to bloom in our garden are the star magnolias. Centennial is one that is readily available and is quite showy. It is very cold-hardy and is easily adaptable to the smaller garden. It is slow-growing, getting to about 15 feet over time. However, it can easily be kept small with a little yearly pruning. The flowers are typically white but there are a few new varieties with a pink blush tone to them. Royal Star, Jane Platt, Pink Stardust, Rubra are some of the ones available.
Saucer magnolia is a larger-flowered hybrid that makes a dramatic display of flowers before foliage appears in late winter or early spring. They are extremely dramatic when in bloom and because of this, most people are willing to put up with occasional damage from a late freeze to have this dramatic show of blooms. Depending on the variety, they can be 15 to 40 feet in height.
The Girl Series, produced by the National Arboretum, bloom about two weeks later than the ones mentioned above. The flowers are doubly delightful. They come in shades of pink to purple and contain names like Betty, Ann, Judy, Pinkie, etc. The plants grow as multi-stemmed large shrubs or small trees and are readily available in local garden centers.
The last group, complex hybrids, is a group where work is being done today to create an even later blooming flowering tree. These are magnolias that have a lot of different magnolias in their parentage. Some are available now with more coming on the market soon.
A few of the newer ones you can plant that are quite showy and pretty I have listed here. These are ones you should be able to find in your local garden centers.
Black Tulip, a superb, frost-hardy deciduous magnolia with attractive foliage and a compact growth habit. The flowers are quite dark red, hence the name black. They are fragrant, appear in late winter and bloom at an early age.
Elizabeth, the first yellow hybrid to become available, is a frost-hardy and vigorous grower. It will become a small upright tree over time with creamy yellow flowers and is slightly scented. There are many other yellow ones available today. Yellow Bird, Butterflies, Solar Flair, Yellow Lantern are just a few. I have one called Golden Girl, which is quite small and could be tucked into a smaller garden quite easily.
Daybreak, newer and a little smaller in size, shows off a profusion of rosepink flowers. It is an award-winning, fragrant tree that is considered by some to be one of the very best. Daybreak has won the Garden of Merit award from the Royal Horticultural Society and the Gold Medal award from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society because it is considered hardy, lovely, and pollution tolerant, making it a good choice for urban areas. It blooms later than many of the magnolias and its flowers are less likely to suffer frost damage in the spring. This outstanding magnolia was registered in 1990 by Dr. August Kehr (1914-2001), a geneticist and plant breeder, who registered a total of 31 magnolias in his lifetime.
Two stella magnolias that are easy to find and are touted to be outstanding stella magnolias are Royal Star and Centennial Blush. They are fragrant, white and appear before the foliage emerges in spring. Because of the smaller shape, it will fit into places where other magnolias need more space.
Take time to notice some of these lovely trees that will be blooming this spring as you drive around town. They are worth pulling your car over to admire them.
Betty Montgomery is a master gardener and author of “Hydrangeas: How To Grow, Cultivate & Enjoy,” and “A Four-season Southern Garden.” She can be reached at bmontgomery40@gmail.com.