Every garden needs a showpiece and for many of us, a magnolia tree is an easy choice. The Saucer Magnolia is considered by many to be "The Queen" of Spring flowering trees.
Their magnificent, often fragrant, showy flowers dramatically blanket the branches long before their leaves unfurl. Most of us are familiar with the white and pink varieties, however there are many more colors and varieties including yellow, purple-pink, deep pink and bi-colored flowers.
These multi-trunked deciduous trees have an upright habit when young becoming spreading and rounded with maturity, 20-25' H x 20-25' W. They are best grown in a well-drained, highly organic, slightly acidic soil. They prefer full sun to a partly shady site protected from strong winds. Also, plant in a location protected from late frost. They are not happy in soils that are either too dry or too wet. Saucer Magnolia Trees are relatively low maintenance, mostly disease and pest free.
The Magnolia genus name honors Pierre Magnol, a French botanist (c: 1638-1715). Étienne Soulange-Bodin (c: 1774-1846), a retired cavalry officer in Napoleon's army, hybridized Magnolia x soulangiana in the early 1800's. One of our most beloved hybrid yellow Magnolias, "Elizabeth", is named in honor of Elizabeth Van Brunt, a friend and benefactor of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden where it was created in 1954, receiving its patent in 1978.
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