Now over 50 years old, 'Claudia Wannamaker' is still one of the best selections of southern magnolia. It has medium green leaves with a tannish underside. It becomes a large tree eventually and this should be considered when planting. It has 6-8" fragrant white flowers from May to June and has a uniform broad pyramidal shape. A classic that will continue to excel, 'Claudia Wannamaker' is a true southern lady.
Magnolia / Magnolia
'D.D. Blanchard' has the largest, darkest green leaves with the showiest brown back of all our magnolias. This Robbins Nursery introduction has a broad, pyramidal, open shape. We prune our D.D.'s multiple times yearly to maintain a tight upright shape with a central leader. When kept pruned, there is no other magnolia that is as showy as 'D.D. Blanchard'. 6-8" blooms are in profusion from May to June and attract birds and bees. It will mature to a very large size.
Kay Parris is a relatively new compact magnolia that is very promising. It is apparently a hybrid with ‘Little Gem’ being one parent. It has extremely glossy, bright green leaves with deep orangy-brown furry undersides. It has beautiful flowers for many months. Growth is faster than ‘Little Gem’ and habit is upright and does not fall apart like 'Little Gem'. Yet it appears to have a smaller maturity than ‘Little Gem’. It is a strong upright grower.
This sweetbay has a distinct upright growth habit with dark green semi-evergreen foliage. A cold hardy selection that matures at 35-40' height with a 15-18' spread. Moonglow is a fast grower that maintains good limb structure and branching. A Heritage Tree Introduction.
Saucer magnolia has perfect flowers with white to pink to purplish colors with as many as 9 tepals. An early bloomer, flowers appear as soon as early march. It makes a great small specimen tree.
Sweetbay magnolia is a native southeastern deciduous tree that, depending on location, may be evergreen. We grow it as a multi-trunked specimen with 3-5 trunks. It has 3-5" lemony fragrant white blooms and distinctive medium to dark green leaves with a silvery white back. It has a symmetrical rounded canopy and smooth light gray bark. It can be used as an accent tree, street tree or for naturalization. A moderate grower, it can be kept manageable.
A native of Japan, 'Royal Star' magnolia produces a very showy and fragrant star-shaped flower in very early spring. These are 3-4" in diameter and appear before most other flowering trees. It has a rounded symmetrical canopy and we grow it multi-stemmed full to the ground. A slow grower, 'Royal Star' remains small and can be used as an accent or specimen in the landscape. A deciduous magnolia, the simple oblong green leaves turn a coppery yellow in fall. Mature size is 12 feet high and 8 feet wide.
The predominant small magnolia, 'Little Gem' has a dense dome shape and blooms profusely from May to December. A slow grower, it will remain small and has small dark green leaves with a heavily felted brown back. We prune heavily to maintain a tight, full appearance and maintain central leaders in all of our 'Little Gem's. Because of it's size, it can be used as a medium specimen or in tight places. It will tolerate partial shade but full sun produces the best growth and flower.
'Jane' magnolia, a deciduous rounded shrub-like tree is one of several 'Little Girl' hybrid selections made in the '50s. 'Jane' produces reddish purple flowers with a white center. It resembles soulangiana but remains small. The leaves are large and light green. Often 'Jane' will flower sporadically throughout the summer and it makes a great accent tree where spring color is desired, as it blooms quite early. We grow this tree as a multi-trunked specimen.
A Bold Spring selection, Greenback Magnolia has dense, tightly branched leaves that are 4-5" long that are a lustrous waxy dark green above with a light green below. The cupped leaves reflect sunlight wonderfully and it makes a showy appearance anywhere a southern magnolia is desired.
One of our favorites, Bracken's Brown Beauty has a dense pyramidal oval shape and great cold hardiness. The 6-8" white flowers appear from May to September. The leaves are medium to dark green with a felted dark brown back and a slightly recurved edge. It is a moderate grower with good drought tolerance. With a better-than-average root structure, it can be dug year-round. It can be used as a specimen, screen or lawn tree.
This variety is found in more northern regions of the native sweetbay range. It tends to be more evergreen and, other than that, is very similar in appearance to the species as a whole.
Introduced by Tree Introductions, 'Alta' is a strongly upright form that remains small. The small leaves are a lustrous dark green with a light brown underside. 'Alta' blooms from May to June with fragrant white flowers that are 6-8" wide. A slow grower, it maintains it's upright columnar shape and can be used where larger magnolia cultivars can't.
