Scientific name: Magnolia grandiflora
Family: MAGNOLIACEAE
Common names: “Southern magnolia” “evergreen magnolia”
Plant Type: Evergreen tree
Conditions:
Zone: 7-9
Light: Full sun – part shade
Exposure: Sheltered from strong winds
Soil: Organically rich acidic soil, tolerates clay if well drained
Moisture: Moist well drained
Aesthetic:
Plant Size: 20′ H & W in Victoria, up to 50′ in native range, slow growing
Leaf and Stem shape: Glossy deep green, wavy-edged leathery, oblong-elliptic leaves, a rich rusty-brown beneath
Flower: Plentiful, highly fragrant, large upward facing cup-shaped creamy-white flowers from summer to autumn
Pruning: Handles a very hard prune if necessary, cut back before Christmas
Maintenance: Low – medium, needs a good tree circle as it resents being underplanted, requires deep watering for the first couple years, enjoys a good shot of Pro-Hort. fertilizer in the spring, handles being transplanted, constant leaf litter
Landscape use: Specimen tree, roadside planting, wallside borders
Propagate: By cuttings and layering
Pests & Disease: Generally healthy but can be damaged by snow
*Deer seem to leave alone
Comments: Beautiful large showy flowers signal the summer, can be used very effectively if planted just below a viewpoint allowing someone to look down into the flowers, young trees will take several years before the first blooms appear
Cultivars: ~AGM winner: M. g. ‘Kay Parris’
