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Magnolias

Magnolias are a wide and varied family of mainly deciduous trees and shrubs. With fantastic fragrant flowers and aromatic leaves and bark that make a beautiful addition to any garden.
Magnolias have been around for a very long time. Fossils of more than 80 species have been found, dating back to five million years. Today Magnolias grow wild in North and South America and East Asia. There are 12 genera and about 230 species in the family magnoliaceae, but of these the genus magnolia is the most widely cultivated.

Choose a site in your garden where your soil is free draining and dig in lots of compost or well rotted manure. Magnolias do not like water logged soil. The perfect soil is a rich and deeply cultivated acid loam, but they will grow in most soils, even slightly alkaline ones. They prefer a site in sun to partial shade. Some species may need protection from frost in certain areas (check when buying plant).

Magnolia tips

Magnolias have fleshy roots and do not like root damage. Take care when planting and only buy pot grown plants. Once the plant is in the ground remember to not dig over the soil around the roots.

Once planted mulch over the root area with compost bark or cocoa shells.

Magnolias do not need regular pruning. Allow plants to grow naturally, prune out any dead or damaged shoots.

Feed twice a year with a liquid feed formulated for acid loving ericaceous plants. Once the buds start to appear feed with a potash based fertiliser.

Gently brush any snow off magnolias to prevent them snapping under the extra weight.

Magnolia Propagation - Magnolias can be difficult for the beginner to propagate. They can be propagated by seed, layering, grafting or from shoot cuttings taken in spring or summer and rooted in a heated propagator.

Magnolias available online...

Magnolia Grandiflora

An impressive, evergreen tree with leathery, dark green, glossy leaves with rust-coloured hairs underneath. In late summer and early autumn, large, fragrant, pure white, goblet-shaped flowers open from upright, woolly buds at the end of the shoots.

Magnolia denudata Yellow River (Magnolia 'Fei Huang')

An unusual variety with glamorous, buttery-yellow flowers and the sweetest perfume. The large buds of Magnolia ‘Yellow River’ open to reveal goblet shaped blooms on bare branches in spring. This exceptional deciduous magnolia makes an elegant and low maintenance specimen tree for a border or woodland garden.

Magnolia Liliiflora 'Nigra'

A stunning, deciduous magnolia with a compact habit and dark purple-red flowers which appear from an earlier age than most magnolias. The goblet-shaped blooms are produced from early summer, and then intermittently into autumn. A lovely shrub for a sunny or partially shaded spot out of strong winds.

Magnolia Standard

Rose pink petals elegantly unfurl from downy, silver buds to form goblet shaped blooms. Grown as a standard, this beautiful deciduous magnolia is compact enough for a pot on the patio, or as a spring focal point in small borders.

Magnolia 'Sunrise'

Creamy goblet shaped flowers with a distinctive red streak are borne on compact stems in spring. This beautiful deciduous shrub has a neat habit making it perfect for growing in small gardens. Magnolia ‘Sunrise’ makes a spectacular feature for a border or large patio container.

Magnolia 'Betty'

Compact magnolia with delightful purple-pink blooms.

Magnolia 'Crystal Cup'

An easy to grow magnolia with plenty of goblet blooms of 6cm across and each bicoloured - fragrant too!

Magnolia 'Black Tulip'

This sensational magnolia is one of the darkest varieties available. Its rich burgundy, tulip-shaped blooms emerge from naked stems in spring, weeks before the foliage. Flowering freely from a young age, Magnolia ‘Black Tulip’ makes a breathtaking specimen for borders and woodland gardens.

Magnolia 'Jade Lamp'

Glorious crystal clear, goblet shaped blooms with a delicate rose pink blush at the base, are produced in abundance on open, shrubby plants. This exceptional deciduous magnolia makes an elegant focal point for a small garden. Height and spread: 3m (10’).

Magnolia 'Pink Beauty'

A deciduous magnolia with showy, candy pink blooms made up of many petals and produced in abundance. This lovely tree makes a beautiful spring-flowering focal point for a small garden. Height: 3m (10’) Spread: 2m (7’).

Magnolia 'Susan'

A bushy, upright shrub with large mid-green leaves. From mid spring to midsummer, narrow goblet-shaped, fragrant flowers emerge from slender, dark burgundy buds. These open to slightly twisted petals which are burgundy on the outside and paler on the inside.

Magnolia 'Wilsonii'

This deciduous magnolia will produce its pendant, cup-shaped flowers later than many of the other spring flowering types, but they are definitely worth waiting for. They appear in late spring on reddish-purple shoots and seem to glow like large, lit lanterns amongst the felted green foliage. When viewed from below the contrast between the pure white petals and dark crimson stamens is breathtaking in its simplicity.

Magnolia 'Wieseneri'

A wonderful Magnolia that produces heavily scented flowers in early summer. Each cream-coloured, cup-shaped flower has a prominent boss of pinkish-red stamens at its heart, and is encased in three pale pink outer petals. It has a naturally shrubby and spreading habit, but it can be trained from a young specimen to become more tree-like.

Magnolia 'Loebneri' Leonard Messel

A beautiful, rounded, small tree or large shrub which flowers on bare branches. In mid spring, it is smothered in rose pink, star-shaped flowers with long, narrow petals that emerge from darker pink buds. The leaves are mid green and the tree is deciduous.

Magnolia Stellata

A popular, compact, bushy shrub or small tree with mid-green leaves and silky buds which open up to large, pure white, star-shaped flowers, sometimes faintly flushed pink. The flowers are lightly scented, and open very early, before the leaves, eventually covering the shrub for several weeks. This is one of the best magnolias for a small garden.

Magnolia Soulangeana

One of the most popular magnolias, with large, dark green leaves that start to appear in mid spring, at about the same time as the huge, deep rose-pink or white, goblet-shaped flowers. This is a good magnolia for smaller gardens, as it remains a shapely shrub for many years, and even when it is mature, is a manageable small tree.

Magnolia 'Butterflies'

Green-flushed, yellow, slender-petalled, cup-shaped flowers, which open widely as the flowers mature to reveal red stamens, appear on this hybrid before the leaves emerge in spring. This beautiful small tree or large shrub, makes a spectacular specimen for the spring garden, especially when underplanted with seasonal flowering bulbs.

Magnolia 'Heaven Scent'

A mid to late spring flowering, deciduous magnolia with an upright habit when young, later spreading. The goblet-shaped, fragrant blooms are flushed with pale pink on the outside, and appear from mid spring to early summer, avoiding most frosts.

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