Flowering Magnolias: 7 Favorite Trees to Plant - Gardenista
Photography by Heather Edwards for Gardenista.
After visiting a place where magnolias grow luxuriantly (such as Cornwall in England), it is natural that on arriving home, the idea of growing one takes hold. On choosing the best magnolia to plant, there is nothing like the advice of an expert grower, but consider this as an introduction.
Magnolia ‘Wada’s Memory’ has flowers like ripped-up paper; $51 at Plant Lust.
Magnolia ‘Wada’s Memory’
Magnolia x loebneri ‘Snow Drift’
An eight-foot specimen of Magnolia x loebneri ‘Snow Drift’ is £376.62 from Majestic Trees.
Magnolia x loebneri ‘Leonard Messel’
Magnolia x loebneri has flowers that are more generous in size than the strap-like petals of its parent M. stellata. Magnolia x loebneri ‘Leonard Messel’ is long-flowering, and again, shell pink.
Magnolia sprengeri ‘Diva’
Magnolia sprengeri ‘Diva’ is £55 from Burncoose, the nursery affiliated with Caerhays Castle in Cornwall.
Magnolia ‘Caerhays Surprise’ in Cornwall, England. It is not a dense tree, nor a particularly tidy one, but its loosely windswept blooms in 1950s pink will stop you in your tracks.
Magnolia ‘Caerhays Surprise’
Magnolia ‘Iolanthe’
Magnolia ‘Iolanthe’ has big blooms on a young tree. It has the advantage of being a reasonable size (21 feet) with very large flowers that bloom (as can be seen here) from an early age.
Magnolia acumimata x denudata ‘Sundance’ opens as a tulip shape, reflexing to a saucer, with a light scent. ‘Yellow River’ has been selected by the Duchy of Cornwall Nursery; it’s listed as medium-sized (i.e., from 23 to 33 feet).
Magnolia acumimata x denudata ‘Sundance’
Magnolia grows by the Duchy of Cornwall Nursery, Cornwall. For more of our favorite species—and growing and care tips—see Magnolia Trees: A Field Guide.