Landscape Design
Top Ideabooks
Gardening
Top Ideabooks
- Delight in Summer's Garden Glories — Here's What to Do in June
- 11 Perfect Plants for a Moonlit Garden — in Pots
- 6 Beautiful Plants for a Shady, Wet Site
- 6 Captivating Roses for an Alluringly Fragrant Garden
- 5 Essential Considerations for a Landscape Design Project
- Get on a Composting Kick (Hello, Free Fertilizer!)
Great Design Plant: Saucer Magnolia
Witness its glorious spectacle in early spring, but this specimen tree brings other delightful visuals to a garden too
Houzz Editorial Staff
Houzz Editorial Staff More »
| Share: |
|
A specimen tree that's unique and attractive, and offers year-round interest, makes sense in a garden; it's useful, hardworking and will perform season after season. Saucer magnolia (Magnolia x soulangeana) performs most notably in one season — maybe even in just one month — than during the rest of the year, by far. But measure most trees' year-round display against saucer magnolia's short-lived early spring spectacle, and I'd say that this one, famously created by agronomist Étienne Soulange-Bodin, wins out over a year of reliable foliage.
While its delicate and sculptural appearance may imply a finicky and high-maintenance disposition, many find these trees to be surprisingly unfussy and easy to grow with proper care and attention.
While its delicate and sculptural appearance may imply a finicky and high-maintenance disposition, many find these trees to be surprisingly unfussy and easy to grow with proper care and attention.
| |
| Botanical name: Magnolia x soulangeana Common names: Saucer magnolia, Japanese magnolia, tulip magnolia USDA zones: 4 to 9 (find your zone) Water requirement: Moderate (keep the soil evenly moist) Light requirement: Full sun to partial shade (prefers morning sun) Mature size: 25 to 30 feet tall; similar spread Benefits and tolerances: Blooms attract bees, butterflies and birds; easy magnolia to grow; tolerates clay soil Seasonal interest: Early, prolific blooms on bare branches When to plant: Plant it in spring during active growth. (It can also be planted in fall before the frost.) |
| |
Distinguishing traits. Saucer magnolia heralds the coming spring as one of the season's earliest bloomers. Flowers appear earlier in milder climates, and later where winter persists. Five- to 10-inch waxy blooms cloud bare branches even before the tree leafs out, emphasizing its spreading, architectural form — one of the tree's most elegant qualities.
Look for fuzzy 1-inch buds as signs of flowers to come. White, fragrant blossoms blush pink and purple as they emerge and open to their namesake saucer shape. Many cultivars have been developed in a wide array of colors and sizes. When the blooms fall, waxy petals temporarily transform the ground into a soft pink blanket.
The tree leafs out after blooming, producing glossy, bright 4- to 6-inch ovate leaves. By late spring the spectacle of saucer magnolia has passed, but that doesn’t mean its value is lost. Foliage persists well through summer, turning yellow and brown in fall before dropping.
While we're all wild about its flowers, the form of saucer magnolia itself makes a beautiful garden focal point. Appreciate its spreading, low branching structure and smooth gray bark until its flowers return again.
Look for fuzzy 1-inch buds as signs of flowers to come. White, fragrant blossoms blush pink and purple as they emerge and open to their namesake saucer shape. Many cultivars have been developed in a wide array of colors and sizes. When the blooms fall, waxy petals temporarily transform the ground into a soft pink blanket.
The tree leafs out after blooming, producing glossy, bright 4- to 6-inch ovate leaves. By late spring the spectacle of saucer magnolia has passed, but that doesn’t mean its value is lost. Foliage persists well through summer, turning yellow and brown in fall before dropping.
While we're all wild about its flowers, the form of saucer magnolia itself makes a beautiful garden focal point. Appreciate its spreading, low branching structure and smooth gray bark until its flowers return again.
How to use it. Saucer magnolia is the ultimate early-spring accent tree, but remember it's a year-round garden feature. Plant it in a protected area where you can enjoy its blooms in spring, foliage through summer and architectural branching structure over winter.
Cluster multiple trees, but remember the maximum size of the tree and its roots, and consider its mature size when you're planting it. Saucer magnolia reaches soaring heights for a patio tree but is also low branching.
Here, mature magnolias line Commonwealth Avenue in Boston.
Cluster multiple trees, but remember the maximum size of the tree and its roots, and consider its mature size when you're planting it. Saucer magnolia reaches soaring heights for a patio tree but is also low branching.
Here, mature magnolias line Commonwealth Avenue in Boston.
Bring a few flowering magnolia branchlets inside.
| Planting notes. There’s a reason saucer magnolia is used so extensively — it’s one of the most tolerant and easy-to-grow magnolias. But that in no way means it's a low-maintenance or no-maintenance tree. Magnolia trees are investments, of both time and money. Saucer magnolias are not difficult to grow, but they take time to establish. Be sure to take extra care and pay attention to small details when they are young. Plant in spring when the tree is actively growing. Fall will also work, but plant at least four to six weeks before the ground freezes.
More: How to Help Your Trees Weather a Storm |
Ideabook published on Feb. 6, 2013.
Latest Ideabooks
People found the photos in this ideabook after searching for:
View over a million photos:
Find Local Pros by Category:
Architects & Designers · Interior Designers & Decorators · General Contractors · Home Media Design & Installation · Landscape Architects & Designers · Kitchen & Bath Designers · Design-build Firms · Closet & Home Storage Designers · Carpet and Flooring · Fireplaces · Tile, Stone & Countertops · Specialty Contractors · Landscape Contractors
Find Local Pros by Metro Area:
Atlanta · Austin · Baltimore · Boston · Chicago · Dallas · Dc Metro · Denver · Detroit · Hawaii · Houston · Las Vegas · Los Angeles · Miami · Minneapolis · Nashville · New Orleans · New York · Philadelphia · Phoenix · Portland · Salt Lake City · San Diego · San Francisco · Seattle · St Louis
Also what are best practices for pruning mature trees? A previous owner of mine cut it way back. I have done some strategic light pruning but have conflicting information on best times of year and whether to contInue the practIce of cutting way back.
Yrs ago I bought a magnolia tree online. Not having much money at the time, I bought the most inexpensive one. In the mail came a 4 inch "tree"! If the poor thing had survived being accidentally run over by the lawn mower because it was so small, it would have taken 10 yrs before I could have appreciated it. My (former) marriage had even worse odds! lol