How to Grow Magnolia grandiflora Plants in your Garden

Quick Growing and Care Guide

• Scientific Name: Magnolia grandiflora
• Common Name (s): Bull bay, Large tree magnolia, Southern magnolia, Bullbay
• Cultivars: Around 50 including Angustifolia (France); Bracken's Brown Beauty (USA); Edith Bogue (USA); Exmouth (UK); Goliath (UK); Little Gem (USA / Dwarf reaching about 14 feet (4 m) in height.
• Growing Zone (USA / UK Hardiness): 7 to 9 (winter cultivars such as Bracken’s Brown Beauty can be grown to USDA zone 5B) / H5

Plant Details

• Life Cycle / Plant Type: Deciduous tree, evergreen tree, or shrub
• Plant Height: 60 to 90 feet (18 to 27 m)
• Plant Spread: 30 to 50 feet (9 to 15 m)
• Blooms: Late spring to early summer.
• Flower Details: Cup-shaped. White. Heavily scented. Large (6 to 12 inches diameter / 15 to 30 cm).
• Leaf Foliages: Large: length - 8 inches / 20 cm; width 5 inches (12 cm). Broadleaf. Dark green top, sometimes rusty brown beneath. Glossy. leathery. Alternative, pinnate. Oblong-elliptic.
• Fruit: Showy. Ovoid. Rose coloured. Cone-like.

Growing Conditions

• Best Conditions: Partial shade (for best results) to full sun. Protected area.
• Suitable Soil Types: Well drained. Rich, Porous. Loam, sandy, clay.
• Suitable Soil pH: Acidic or neutral
• Soil Soil Moisture: Moist (good drainage essential)
• Sowing, planting, and Propagation: Sow seeds in the autumn. Take semi-ripe cuttings towards the end of summer or in early autumn. Layer shoots in early spring.
• Care: Medium maintenance plant. Light pruning in the spring. Also Prune if training against a wall in the summer.

Further Information

• Best used for: Ornamental tree, parks, lawns. Winter interest.
• Family:
• Closely Related Species:
• Miscellaneous: Good timber. Produces seeds from about ten years of age. Naturally found in swamps and at the edges of water, or as a shrub in dunes. Can tolerate air pollution. Takes at least 20 years to reach full height.
• Family: Magnoliaceae
• Further Reading and References used for this Magnolia grandiflora growing guide: NC Extension; Wikipedia