Invariably around this time of the year, people will ask me what is that tree covered in big pink blooms? Few people seem to make the realization that it is actually a species of Magnolia. We are all familiar with the Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), but the genus Magnolia is vast and diverse. I liken it to the genus Rhododendron which contains both evergreen and deciduous species.
As a reminder, a deciduous species loses its leaves in the fall. The magnolia species I'm referencing are deciduous and both are native to Asia. Oh, and there are a lot more species than this, but these are the most commonly grown in our climate. Maybe in a future post I can cover some of the others.
In the southeast, I most often encounter Magnolia × soulangeana, the saucer magnolia or sometimes called the "tulip tree". Though this causes confusion as the name tulip tree is also the common name for our native Liriodendron tulipifera, which is closely related to Magnolias but grows straight and tall and has yellow tulip-like blossoms.
Saucer Magnolias are usually a broad spreading and spreading tree (think apple or large dogwood), though I've seen some cultivars with a more upright posture. This is a plant that blooms in February and is often damaged by late-winter freezes. Despite some brutal cold in January, this year seems to be a great year for this species. Its flowers are cup-like, reminiscent of a robust tulip, and mostly fall on the pink-to-lilac color spectrum.
Another regularly encountered deciduous magnolia is the star magnolia or Magnolia stellata. Star magnolias are usually smaller than saucer types, and tend to look more like a large shrub than a tree. Its flowers have a graceful yet unkempt wispy look, with many narrow white petals. It also blooms around this time of year (late February).
These Magnolias are easy to grow, yet they are somewhat slow to mature. But they can live for many decades, much longer than flowering cherries in our climate. Like most of our ornamental trees, they grow best in rich soils but can't tolerate soggy soils that don't drain properly. Otherwise, these are great trees for our landscapes, just keep in mind that some years will be better than others because of our erratic late-winter freezes.
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