Close your eyes and image a magnolia .
What did you see ? If I had to bet , I would guess you conceive of a tree diagram with Brobdingnagian , waxy , white prime that smelled heavenly .
whizz along in on the leaves , and they ’re probably large and leathered , with a dark-green chromaticity on top and a copper flavor underneath .
Most of us cerebrate of theSouthern magnolia ( Magnolia grandiflora)when we think of the classic . With itsevergreen foliageand dramatic appearance , it grabs the spotlight in our imaginations .
But there are mass of other option out there , including those that misplace their leaf in the wintertime and bloom on nude wood .
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Why would you want a tree that live bare in the wintertime if you do n’t have to ? Deciduous magnolias are more versatile in the garden , for one .
They come in smaller sizes , there are those that can survive in swampy conditions , and there are some with even larger , glossy blossoms than the good old Southern character as well .
Plus , since they lose their folio each year , those in region that find snow wo n’t have to distribute with the branch being weigh down and bump nearly as often .
It ’s about clip these lesser - known tree diagram got their time in the public eye . Move over , southerly magnolia ! We ’re focus on deciduous magnolias today .
Here are the dish we ’ll talk about in this roundup :
15 of the Best Deciduous Magnolias
There are around 40 coinage of deciduous magnolias , and this number include many garden darling .
The bigleaf ( M. macrophylla ) , Campbell ’s ( M. campbellii ) , cucumber ( M. acuminata ) , Fraser ( M. fraseri ) , lily ( M. liliiflora ) , Sprenger ’s ( M. sprengeri ) , star ( M. stellata ) , sweetbay ( M. virginiana ) , umbrella ( M. tripetala ) , and Yulan ( M. denudata ) and their loan-blend are the ones you most unremarkably see on the commercial-grade marketplace .
no matter of which you opt , they have middling similar get requirements . study about growing magnolias in our guideif you need some tips .
To start with , we ’ll discuss a cultivar from the Little Girl series , one which has become a linchpin in gardens :
1. Ann
‘ Ann ’ was breed fromM. liliiflora‘Nigra , ’ a small tree with deep purple blossoms , andM. stellata‘Rosea , ’ a larger tree with star - like pink blossom that fade to White person .
The result is a small-scale tree , under 12 feet tall and 15 foot extensive , that flowers afterwards in the outpouring to dodge most late rime . She might even give you a 2nd round of prime in the summer if there ’s enough moisture .
This tree is part of the Little Girl series , hybridized by the National Arboretum in the 1950s .
It ’s the result of the punishing workplace of geneticist Dr. Francis DeVos , botanist Theodore Robert Dudley , and afterward , horticulturist William Kosar .
Those involved with the projection bring up their creations after their daughters and wives .
‘ Ann ’
Of the “ girls , ” ‘ Ann ’ is usually the first to bloom and the best rebloomer . The flower are red - purple and have a faint fragrancy .
Hardy from Zone 3b to 8b , the tree is extremely floriferous .
It ’s easy to be a buff of ‘ Ann . ’ Bring a two- to three - foot shrub homefrom Nature Hills Nurseryin a # 3 container .
2. Bigleaf
Living up to its common name , bigleaf , M. macrophyllahas leaves that can reach nigh three feet farseeing and half as wide .
That make them the big of a exclusive - foliage deciduous tree diagram native to North America . In warmer climates , these Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree can be semi - evergreen .
They do n’t give prime for leaf size of it , though . The flush can be a full foot and a half in diameter . When it comes to non - tropical flush , they ’re the largest in the earth .
Really , nothing about this tree is belittled . While it is n’t the tallest magnolia , it can grow up to 65 feet in the forest understory surround that it prefers .
It take a long time for this tree diagram to mature to the point where the white and purple flowers appear , at least 12 year .
Sadly , it can be a fauna to keep happy in the garden . It needs super at large , well - draining soil , a perfect residuum of sunshine and ghost , and consistent moisture .
While it is n’t usually trouble oneself by pest ordisease , any utmost variation in moisture and temperature will shorten its life considerably . But many of its hybrids have the dramatically - sized leave and flowers combined with a more absolvitory nature .
Oh , and buya vainglorious , tough rakealong with your tree diagram , if you adjudicate to embed one of these . You have n’t seen fallen leafage until you have to rake up after your bigleaf !
Bigleafs can grow in USDA Hardiness Zones 5b to 9b .
3. Butterflies
Beautiful ‘ butterfly stroke ’ is a crossing betweenM. acuminata‘Fertile Myrtle ’ andM. denudata‘Sawada ’s Cream . ’
It takes its flower colour fromM. acuminataand has shining , canary-yellow yellow flowers that maintain their coloring even as they age . They take on a paler hue in hot climates .
The flower take their size , scent , and form fromM. denudata , with a middling cupped form and lemon odor . Each branch is positively stifle in the dart flowers .
After the five - in blossoms decrease from the tree , the showy foliage emerges , with each leaf growing up to eight inch long .
‘ Butterflies ’
Noted magnolia hybridizer Phil Savage , Jr. in Blooming Hills , Michigan , bred ‘ butterfly stroke ’ in 1988 and patented it in 1991 .
The tree diagram grows to about 20 feet tall , mean you could prune it to keep it as a tall bush , in Zones 5 to 9 .
suppose a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that await like it ’s cover in cheerful sensationalistic butterflies . If that sounds like just the thing you need , visit Nature Hillsfor a live tree in a # 3 or # 5 container .
4. Campbell’s
M. campbelliiis native to the Himalayan part and grows extremely tall , up to 100 feet in height and 40 invertebrate foot across-the-board .
The 10 - inch - wide flowers are rise pink on the exterior and white or pastel garden pink on the interior .
ab initio , they are chalice - mould so they appear glowering , but as they maturate , they open up to reveal their pale interior .
The leaves are dark greenish on top and pale greenish underneath .
One of the drawback of this tree is that belated frosts will obliterate the efflorescence if it ’s planted in a region that has them , though the subspeciesmollicomataflowers a morsel later in the year , so it might dodge this issue .
The specie has also been used to produce numerous beloved late - flower hybrids and there are several beautiful cultivar like ‘ Alba ’ and ‘ Strybing White , ’ with saturated blanched blossoms , and ‘ Lanarth , ’ with monumental rich violet flowers .
The species rise good in Zones 7 to 10 .
5. Cucumber
Cucumber trees , M. acuminata , aren’t really adored for their flowers , which are pocket-sized , greenish - yellowish , and seem high up in the tree where they can be hard to see .
They ’re valued for their vast farewell , which uprise up to nine inch tenacious with an attractive , open shape .
The foliage take on a golden chromaticity in autumn , strange for magnolias which unremarkably miss striking fall foliage .
While it might not be wildly democratic on its own , this North American aboriginal has been used to create many pop hybrids .
These majestic trees can mature up to 70 feet magniloquent with a pyramidal figure . It takes over a decade before they start to produce their somewhat fragrant peak , and fruits which look like tiny cucumber vine .
This specie is also adaptable , happy in Zones 4 to 8 .
check more about growing cucumber magnolia tree here .
6. Daybreak
A cross betweenM.‘Woodsman ’ and likelyM.‘Tina Durio , ’ ‘ Daybreak ’ was created by plant geneticist and breeder Dr. August Kehr and liberate in 1990 .
It quickly became a pop option on the marketplace and nabbed the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society ’s Gold Medal in 2004 , and the Royal Horticultural Society ’s Award of Garden Merit in 2012 .
Part of what makes this such a decent tree is that it has a columnar configuration , which is rare in magnolia . It grow to about 25 foot tall and one-half as wide .
The rose - pink bloom are Brobdingnagian , up to 10 column inch across , and come up out belatedly enough that they can usually avoid flush - killing frosts .
This Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is kind of pollution which , combined with its compact growth , make it a overbold option for planting near roadways or in parking striptease in Zones 5 to 8 .
7. Fraser
batch or Fraser magnolias ( M. fraseri ) are native to the southeasterly US ranging from Florida as far northward as West Virginia , and west as far as Texas .
They cling in the main to the Appalachian Mountain Range .
These are some of the smaller magnolias , rarely topping 40 feet . The leave can be relatively large at around 12 in long , but they can reach a ft and a one-half . The bloom are about nine inch panoptic and they ’re creamy snowy .
When the leafage fall from the tree diagram , you could really get a near look at the scaly brown barque , which add together grain to the landscape .
This mintage does n’t tolerate temperatures as dusty as some others in the genus . It ’s broadly curb to growing in Zones 8b to 10b .
8. Galaxy
breed by the US National Arboretum in 1963 , ‘ Galaxy ’ is a intercrossed cross betweenM. liliiflora‘Nigra ’ andM. sprengeri‘Diva . ’
It grow to about 30 foot tall with a pyramidal shape . When vernal , it ’s quite narrow , though it will gradually pass around – as so many of us do – when it hits middle eld .
The flowers open later on in the class to dodge sneak frosts in Zones 5 to 9 .
Once they do , you ’re handle to a Galax urceolata of cherry - over-embellished , 10 - inch peak , survey by medium and abstemious green leaves that are attractive all on their own .
Plus , it blooms while still quite untested , around nine years one-time .
This cultivar is so courteous it nab the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society ’s Gold Medal in 1992 and the Royal Horticultural Society ’s Award of Garden Merit in 1993 .
9. Goldfinch
Gorgeous ‘ Goldfinch ’ ( or ‘ golden Finch ’ ) has pale yellow blossoms that emerge late in the spring to dodge those surprisal later frosts .
It ’s also one of the cold - hardiest yellow types , and the tree diagram blossom younger than many others , so you do n’t have to expect as long for the show .
It was bred by renowned hybridizer Phil Savage , Jr. in Michigan .
He usedM. acuminata‘Miss Honeybee ’ andM. denudata‘Sawada ’s Cream ’ to make a tree with an open , spreading habit in a compact 15 - foot magniloquent height with goblet - shape , 10 - column inch - all-encompassing flower .
embed it in Zones 4 to 8 .
10. Jane
Many magnolias drop off their flowers if a late freeze happens along , as we ’ve noted .
If that ’s something you want to annul , take one of the trivial Girl excerpt spawn by William Kosar . They all have the name calling of “ girls , ” like Jane and Ann .
‘ Jane ’ is a popular selection because of its vibrant , violet - pinkish flower that open up later in the year so they ’re less prone to being kill off by hoar .
They also persist longer on the tree diagram than some other deciduous magnolia .
‘ Jane ’ is part of same series that we talked about sooner . This one was breed by combiningM. liliiflora‘Reflorescens ’ andM. stellata‘Waterlily , ’ in 1956 .
‘ Jane ’
Of The Girls , ‘ Jane ’ is the largest , typically coming in at 15 feet marvellous and 12 foot all-inclusive , but often growing up to 20 infantry grandiloquent .
It also has the most fragrant flower of the mathematical group , though it ’s only passably fragrant on the magnolia scale overall .
Make ‘ Jane ’ yours and catch a live treeat Fast Growing Treesfor planting in Zones 4 to 8 .
11. Lily
M. liliiflorahails from southwestern China , but its bold purple - pink blossoms have convinced mankind to carry it with them across the planet .
It is wide cultivated across Asia , Europe , and North America .
Magnolia liliiflora ‘ Nigra ’ or Black lily magnolia tree . Ornamental tree with sumptuous good reddish - purple to gorgeous pinkish tulip - shaped flowers and its thick , glowing greenish parting .
know diversely as crimson , regal , lily , tulip , Mulan , and Nipponese magnolia , its petite height , at under 15 feet grandiloquent and wide , and its profuse , lily - form blossoms , have made it extremely popular as a parent for interbreed .
The famous saucer magnolia , which we ’ll shroud next , was bred by crossing this tree andM. denudata .
As with most magnolias on this listing , the bloom appear in the spring before the leafage emerges , but this species and some of its hybrids might also have a belittled repeat bloom in midsummer .
While it is n’t as wide bonk as some of its offspring , lily magnolia would be perfect for those who have a small area for plant in Zones 5 to 9 and want something floriferous even in partial spectre .
12. Saucer
Saucer magnolia ( M.xsoulangeana ) were bred by hybridizingM. denudataandM. liliflora .
They are famous for their huge , five- to 10 - in blossoms that emerge early on in spring . So early , in fact , that they are often killed off by a previous frost , which can be a huge bummer .
You do n’t desire to be deprive of their glorious performance with hues of white , pink , and purple .
On the bright side , they will sometimes rebloom in summer and again in winter , count on your mood and available moisture .
The large leaves , which go forth after the flowers fade , are thickset , leathery , and dark honey oil . They make a beautiful line against the weak gray bark of the tree .
discus
This fast - growing hybrid quickly reaches heights of 40 feet or more in Zones 4 to 9 .
For flowers the size of it of saucers , head to Nature Hills Nurseryto purchase a tree in a # 2 container .
get a line more about dish aerial magnolia tree diagram here .
13. Star
superstar magnolias ( M. stellata ) fit into smaller smirch and can be grow as large shrub at under 15 feet in zone 4 to 9 .
While the blanched flowers are smaller than those of many other species at under four column inch extensive , there are so many of them that they practically cover every offshoot , like the stars twinkling in the dark sky in some distant part of the American West .
This tree made its way across the globe after go into refinement in its aboriginal Japan , with many cultivars available .
‘ Royal Star , ’ in picky , look as though the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is covered in clean foliage , but when you look closer , you ’ll see that it ’s covered in white wizard - like bloom alternatively .
While you ’re up close , take a deep whiff of the sweet odour occur off those abundant blooms .
‘ Royal Star ’
Most of us ca n’t see the Milky Way , but we can savor our own galax of stars with one of these trees in our yard .
determine yoursat profligate Growing Treesin two - congius , one - to - two - foot , or two - to - three - foot choice .
ascertain tips on get sensation magnolia here .
14. Sweet Bay
angelic bay tree or sweetbays ( M. virginiana ) are ideal if you require something for a shady area or one with excessive moisture to become other magnolias .
Also known as swampland magnolia , swamp sassafras , and white laurel , this Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is aboriginal to easterly North America , where it grow in coastal areas or along waterways .
Even in the shade , they bring out creamy white heyday with a captivating citrus perfume . The flowers are n’t as massive as some others , at a “ mere ” three inches across .
But there are lots of them . Plus , there are some cultivar like ‘ Jim Wilson ’ that have larger flower , if that ’s something you prefer .
In warmer regions , it grow more tree - like and up to 100 feet tall . In cool regions , it stays more bush - like and grows under half that height .
Sweetbay
As you may have guessed by one of its usual names , the leaves resemble those on a bay laurel .
If you hold out in Zones 5a-10b , pick up a sweet bay for your spaceat Nature Hills Nursery .
They carry live plant in a # 1 container , a # 3 container with a two to three - foot tree , or a # 5 container with a four to five - pes Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree .
Then , hear more about growing these tree in our guide .
15. Umbrella
The umbrella tree diagram or umbrella magnolia ( M. tripetala ) gets its name from the shiny leaves , which bundle in a round at the last of the stems .
You could easily see them function as an umbrella for a garden gnome .
aboriginal to the Appalachian region , it grows in the forest understory , rarely reaching more than 40 feet marvelous .
It ’s not cultivated for its large white and unripened prime , pretty though they are . It ’s primarily appreciate as a tone tree diagram , though the colorful purple and red fruit are worth a 2nd look .
Beyond lacking the striking floral show that so many people love , the flowers also kind of malodour .
So the umbrella tree has obtain its recession in the world of cultivation as a parent for some beautiful cross . The species is dauntless in Zones 5a to 8b .
There are So Many Magnificent Magnolias
More than once , I ’ve met someone who lamented that magnolia just would n’t work in their place .
Maybe they thought they were in a region that gets too dusty , or they assumed they needed a immense orbit . Some citizenry image the trees were too cross or would recrudesce in the snow .
No more excuses . There ’s one out there for just about everyone .
If you ’d like tolearn more about magnolias , check out these guides next :
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About
Kristine Lofgren
