Magnolia Wilsonii questions

15 years ago

Hi,

I am looking for any info about Magnolia Wilsonii. I bought one last fall at my local garden center and oh joy!! it survived the winter. Now I would like some info from anyone who grows it. Is it meant to lose the leaves over the winter, I have seen it called both evergreen and decidous. How old does it need to be before it begins to bloom. Any info would be greatly appreciated, especially anyone growing in the colder zones.

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Comments (9)

Mystery_Gardener
15 years ago
Hi Squirelette:

Wow, are you sure it is a Magnolia Wilsonii? They are supposedly a zone 6 plant and higher, you list your zone as 3.

We do have one in our yard (zone 7 the last few years) and it always loses it leaves. Some stick to the branches long after they dry up.

More likely you have Magnolia sieboldii, they are often confused (and mislabeled) as Wilsonii. This species is listed to zone 4 so it would have a better chance of making it through your winter. Going by memory, the inside of the Sieboldii flowers have a purple tinge, the Wilsonii have more of an orange tinge. The flower shape itself is almost exactly the same. Like all Magnolia family members they prefer acidic soil.

Cheers,
MG

Here is a link that might be useful: Our website
squirelette
Original Author
15 years ago
Hi,
Pretty sure that it was labelled wilsonii although I can not find the tag. I had the Seiboldi when we lived in Vancouver and they have more round shaped leaves as I recall. Any idea how old the tree needs to be to bloom, it is about 5 feet now so I would guess 2-3 years. Thanks
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The bigger question that you should be worried about is whether it will bloom for you in your zone. Although the crown of the plant may be hardy to -20F the buds and top growth may not be. Since montanas fall into pruning group I and they bloom on older wood, if the top portions get killed back each winter, you may never see any blooms. I know there have been some here on this forum in the past who have had luck getting some montanas to bloom for them in zone 5, but your individual microclimate and where you plant it will be the determining factor. How cold your garden gets each winter, the amount of snow cover, the sun exposure, how long it stays below freezing, etc. all come into play in determining if the top growth will be frozen back. The people I have seen growing montanas in the zone 5s with success have had them planted so they were growing on their houses which would serve as a heat sink and thereby protect the plant and foliage. Further complicating the matter is that not all zone 5s are the same as far as winter weather patterns. The zone only tells you the max and minimum temps during a typical season and nothing about the intensitity of the cold, how long it lasts, if it is consistent cold or are there temp. flucatations, etc. The bottom line is that no one can give you any guarantees whether every winter will be the same in your zone and therefore whether you will get yours to bloom. Experience with one in your garden will be the telling story. In his book "The Montanas", John Howells describes the plant as one for the connoisseur with a sympathetic climate and that it is one that is said to be difficult to propagate and to grow. It can get up to 20 feet when it does well. In England anyway, it tends to bloom late in the summer and early fall, which is quite unusual for a montana. From all this I would say if you are an adventurous soul to give it a whirl and plant it in a southerly exposure on a rock or brick wall which would help serve to protect the plant from the extremes of the weather and as a heat sink for the sun during the winter.
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@Embothrium I appreciate the thoughts. Hopefully the brown leaves are just an anomaly and wont have to reach out to the Local Extension. @Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis There are only a few brown leaves. Nothing to visible from the ground but I'll keep and eye out. @Yardvaark Thank you, I tend to over analyze the minor amidst a rather healthy tree/garden. @ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5 It was fun getting on the roof in an act of delayed disobedience, as the parents weren't too keen on roof surfing in my yesteryear's. I felt that rebellious rush and it was TOTALLY worth capturing 4/1,000,000 brown leaves in the process. @annieinaustin That is extremely helpful for a newbie like myself trying to understand the art of taking care of the inherited yard/garden/tree(s) @blue bayou I appreciate your insight. Still trying to figure out the best way of getting those leaves out of the garden because, in a bit of a catch 22, I have 3 mature red Yuccas directly underneath the magnolia that act as a leaf catcher but creates a difficult and time consuming effort trying to dig out all the leaves from the Yucca's. I'll keep my rake near by and try to keep the area clean as possible. Perhaps a decent addition to the compost bin. Thank you all!
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Mystery_Gardener
15 years ago
Hi:

Mine are just budding up. I will take a leaf photo of each when they emerge so you can compare them to your specimen. I got mine in a one gallon pot, it started blooming the second year. It may take longer in your climate ;-)

Cheers,
MG

Here is a link that might be useful: Our website
squirelette
Original Author
15 years ago
That is great, thanks for the info. It will be interesting to see how it does out here. Looking forward to seeing the pics.
jennie
15 years ago
Well, I'm much milder than you are; but my M. wilsonii started to flower when it was about three or four feet tall. It had three flowers two years ago, six flowers last year; and I'm counting about twenty-five buds this year.

It's completely decidious for me and has long oval light green leaves which are a bit fuzzy. The leaves come out about when it blooms and the leaf bud covers have brownish fuzz on them.

Mine is just budding, leaf and bloom now. Our temps are running about fifty at night, daffodils are on the way out but not done, primroses are going full blast and my rhodie is just done blooming.

Hope this helps.
squirelette
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the help. I finally found the tag, it is not wilsonii it is Viginiana "jim wilson". The tips are just starting to unfurl so I will wait and see what it does this year. Just the fact that it survived is amazing.
Mystery_Gardener
14 years ago
Hi:

I just googled the 'Jim Wilson' and I really liked the look of the flower. It is going on my 'future tree list', I think it would make a great addition.

My Sieboldi is going to open a bloom today (it is totally covered;-), I will get a photo soon. Only a few buds on the Wilsonii but it is much smaller and in a shady area.

Cheers,
MG

Here is a link that might be useful: Our website
squirelette
Original Author
14 years ago
Hi,
Any southern magnolia that can survive the winter we had has got to be a winner. I am so anxious to see it leaf out. This spring has been terrible, snow most of this week, alot of the trees are very slow to leaf. I do not expect to see blooms for a couple years but I am hoping. I would love a Sieboldi, I brought one when we moved back here from Vancouver but it did not make it thru the 2nd winter. I will have to try it again my yards front and back are raised so it would be lovely to sit on the patio with it blooming overhead.
taknekto
13 years ago
According to the book about magnolias by James M Gardiner, M wilsonii is regarded as hardiness zone 3 in North America.

Magnolia Wilsonii questions

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Magnolia Wilsonii questions

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Mystery_Gardener

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