If hardiness is your main concern there probably 'Edith Bogue' would be the best bet of the three. However, there are other subzero hardy selections with more interesting foliage. Others will no doubt suggest some specific ones, I'm not remembering at the moment how the more hardy ones on the general market stack up.

'Little Gem' would not be suitable at all as this isn't even hardy in my part of USDA 8; after this winter I am looking at numbers of dead-looking examples of this over-planted cultivar.

It sometimes also breaks in the snow.

Little Gem is one of my favorite cultivars of M. grandiflora. I planted one last May and it flowered through October. It held its leaves without any significant burning and the last winter was cold and snowy (zone 7 here), minimum temp 4 degree F.. (I don't know why the Little Gems may have had a problem in the Pacific NW.. Maybe the summers are too cool or not long enough.) I love it so much, I'm going out tomorrow to buy at least one more. Victoria is also very hardy and I have had minimal winter burn on it. In my area, other varieties sold include Bracken's Brown and Teddy Bear (both nice and fuzzy on the undersides--if you happen to find that attractive). I have no problem with the appearance of Edith Bogue so I make room for these super hardy varieties as well 9 (no winter burn and perfect for more exposed sites). My most tender variety is Green Giant (no fuzz but a very fast grower). Another favorite of mine is Majestic Beauty (flowers up to 12 inches across)! I bet you would be able to most varieties in your area--just be sure to give them space as they are ALL big, robust tree!

I just posted the same question on the mid-Atlantic forum, then came here to post, and saw this one!

Can anyone give a comparison of the form of the tree -- Teddy Bear v. Alta v. Little Gem?

Thanks!

Teddy bear & lil gem are dwarf varieties.

Is there some reason you need a dwarf? Powerlines? Small garden?
If not, go with the faster growing, reliably hardy varieties. I don't know about t.bear but lil gem has smaller leaves

Callaway, The World of Magnolias (Timber Press) says 'Little Gem' is probably the least hardy of them all. It is certainly acting that way out here.

Majestic Beauty ('Monlia') (R) with its paddle-like leaves clustered near the ends of straight, forking branches is positively built to break under snow loads.

I've had an Edith Bogue in a faily sheltered corner of my garden for several years, and it keeps returning. It's starting to leaf out better now that a few shrubs that were shading it out have been cut down.

I wonder how long it takes before they bloom?

Magnolia grandiflora 'Teddy Bear' is a slower growing and smaller growing cultivar most known for it's heavy dense indumentum (fuzz) on the leaf undersides. It has smaller leaves than typical Southern Magnolia as well as smaller flowers, but it does tend to flower for an extended period of time compared to other cultivars. It doesn't flower quite as long or quite as much as M. 'Little Gem' does though.

M.'Little Gem' is also a slower growing smaller cultivar. It however is most known for it's very extended flowering season. Often times in appropriate climates it will flower well into November or even December. It's flowers are smaller than typical as well. Since it blooms and grows much later into the season than others, it often suffers from winter die-back in areas in the Northern part of it's hardiness(zone 6 and Northern zone 7) or in areas without sufficient summer heat to ripen it's new growth (The Pacific NW). Overall, I've had no problems growing this cultivar here in zone 6 Kansas, with the exception of sometimes having the very late growth killed, which seems to happen about once out of every 3 or 4 years here. One year it flowered until early November for me and suffered no die-back, but normally it stops flowering sometime in early September for me and growth it puts out past September is winter injured.

M. 'Edith Bogue' is an averaged sized cultivar with normal sized leaves and flowers. It has dark green leaves with decent brown indumentum on it's leaf undersides and is very winter hardy. It will grow larger, faster than the other 2 cultivars. It also tends to grow just as wide as it does tall, which makes it a bit more broad growing than other cultivars.

You should be able to find Southern Magnolia(M. grandiflora) cultivars at some local nurseries near you. But I suspect you will mostly find M. 'Bracken's Brown Beauty' or maybe M. 'Edith Bogue'. They are both quite popular amongst nurseries in zone 6 or even Southern zone 5, especially the former. If you need to look outside of your area, you can check Rare Find Nursery, Greer Gardens, Gossler Farms, or Fairweather Gardens. They all usually carry several cultivars of Southern Magnolia.

Rare Find Nursery
Gossler Farms
Greer Gardens
Fairweather Gardens

Just *go* to Fairweather Gardens.

Thanks so much for the replies. The reason for the dwarf is space. I saw Teddy Bear recently and really liked the dark color of the leaves. It was standing next to Little Gem, and there wasn't much difference, though TB might have been a bit darker.

I initially liked Alta because of its upright form, which would work well in my space, but from what I understand, TB and LG might also be upright?

I wish I could order some of the more interesting varieties, but I want as large a size as I can afford right now, and I'm afraid shipping would be prohibitive on that.

I just talked to someone today who said LG is hardy in my area. So if TB and LG are also upright like Alta, then I have 3 choices which work in terms of size and form. I just don't know how to decide among them. Is one faster growing than the others, maybe?

Thanks again.

I planted a Little Gem magnolia last spring and loved it all summer, right through fall. We're in Gettysburg, PA - probably zone 6b, but it suffered terribly through this past winter (and it wasn't that cold a winter). Probably 1/2 the leaves, at least, are all brown. I'm not sure if it's possible to rescue it, or if I'll have to replace it with something more hardy. Does anyone know if these trees bounce back?

Hi Profsuzy,

It will likely come back fine. SOunthern magnolias will gain some hardiness and resistance to leaf browning as they become more established. You can also spray them with something like wilt-pruf for the first few years.

Profsuzy where did you get your Little Gem and how big was it? We live closer to Philly area. I have a smaller area and was looking for one that did not get too big..What is the growth rate like? Does Wilt Pruf really help the leaves from browning??

We got our Little Gem at the Costco in Frederick, MD. I know, not exactly a quality nursery, and I admit it was something of an impulse buy - but the tag said it was hardy to zone 6, and we're on the border between 6 and 7 so I thought it would be worth the chance. If it survives this summer - i.e. if it shows signs of bouncing back - we'll probably not only use the wilt-pruf adviced by picea above (which I've never used) but also give it some burlap wind protection. Right now, it doesn't look particularly lovely,with all the brown leaves, but it was gorgeous last summer - bloomed all summer and into the fall.
Oh, and as for size, I'd say it was 6 or 7 feet when planted, and maybe a tag bigger than that now.

This cultivar has, within a very short period of time, become one of my absolute favorites (have about six different cultivars of M. grandiflora). Unfortunately, it is rarely available around me. Winter 08-09 saw a minimum of 4 degrees F.. This was the first winter in the ground for my Little Gem and it looks fine (little burning). I often do use Wilt Proof for all my broadleaved everygreens for their first winter or two but did not last fall. Just ordered three more trees for the property. My tree bloomed from the time I put in into the ground mid/late May through the end of October. Stunning!

Dozens of totally brown 'Little Gem' with leafless tips in some neighborhoods here in western USDA 8 after this last winter.

bboy-what type of late summer and fall weather did you have? There is some thought that what you are seeing may be do to the plant not hardening off. Did other southern magnolias have the same issues?

David

OMG, I have 2 Edith Bogue in parsippany, during 08-09 winter cold day, it was 2-4 F. The tree trunk wrap with ice
for days. I was so warry about the tree. One of tree, lost almost all leaves since it was on the path of north wind.
However, now it has new leaves come out, the only thing I realized is that hurted tree new leaves are very small and with very few flower.
Anyone has idea? The one did not hit hard by wind is good with almost 30 more flowers.

Both plants are amazing and have a number of differences. Just google, for example, "teddy bear vs little gem" and you'll find good comparison articles.