Can you post some pics of your magnolia?

You mean the one I wish I could plant? If I thought I had the right site, I'd be dashing out for one tomorrow. Since you aren't getting inundated with responses I assume there is nobody here in colder zone 6 growing one of these successfully?

Sue

I'd love to try but the only area where I think it's suitable...doesn't have enough room for the mature tree..sigh.

Edith Bogue is a cultivar that reputedly does well in zone 6 (see http://www.tripleoaks.com/wpgdisplay.php?id=320); I have one that I picked up as a twig at a Wayside sale and it's progressing nicely. Mrs Bogue's original tree is still thriving in the back yard of her home in Montclair, NJ. In fact it is magnificent! I was finally able to get a good look at it a couple of weeks ago when the next door neighbors were having a garage sale.

Here is an image of my southern magnolia tree located on the south coast of Massachusetts. I have been pruning it agressively in the last few years to keep it tight. The space I have is small, as you can see, and keeping it tight helps prevent breakage during heavy wet snowstorms. It made it through the horrible winter of 2004 with no damage, except for a few burned leaves. The patio you see in the pic is open only to the south, so I have a very protected location. I fertilize it liberally each spring after a pruning in April. I also apply wilt-pruf in winter for added protection since my tree receives full winter sun. It will thrive, as you can see, with some TLC. The variety shown is Bracken Brown Beauty. I also have a small Edith Bogue which is doing well.

And a nice shot of one of the flowers. It creates flower buds on new growth in spring (unlike the hardy deciduous magnolias) and the flowers do not open up all at once. They open one or two at a time over the course of early to mid summer. They are extremely fragrant and attract bees like crazy. I love this plant!

Wow, that is just a gorgeous specimen, Rockman! It gets full winter sun? That is so contrary to what you read for ideal conditions for them here in the north. I have a south facing patio bed backed by a garage wall where Musa basjoo wintered over. This year I added a crepe myrtle to the mix but I'm out of room. Maybe it's time to boot the hardy stuff out of there and into the colder reaches of the garden.

Sue

Sue: Your comment about winter sun is correct. The ideal condition would be a site that is completely blocked from N and NW winds, receives full summer sun, and little or no winter sun. But, such conditions do not usually exist. So compromise is in order. In my experience, strong, cold, dry, N and NW winds during invasions of arctic air are much more damaging than winter sun, if you apply sun screen. So, a south facing wall is ideal if you liberally apply wilt-pruf. I apply it twice: once in late November and once again during mild weather in late January to early February. During the winter of 2004-2005, I didn't apply wilt-pruf (a grand experiment). Well, that winter was not expecially cold, but we did have record snowfall. And the sun reflecting off the snow created huge leaf damage. But, the tree bounced back and by that summer, it was full and lush again. Very hardy. But it looked pretty bad in spring. And the Bracken Brown Beauty (BBB)is a bit floppy--I learned that the hard way. Even a light to moderate fall of heavy wet snow can break branches if you don't keep it tight. The Edith Bogue variety has a much more stiff habit, but in my opinion, it is not as attractive as BBB. For southern New England, do not buy any other varieties (only BBB and Edith Bogue are hardy). There is a lot of talk about a small compact variety called Little Gem--perfect for small spaces. I tried it back in 2000. It died completely after a normal south coast winter. Don't buy it.

Good Luck!

I have a thriving BBB here in southeast Mass. Planted it two years ago so it's still settling in. It was 5' at planting and is about 6-6 1/2' today. I watered it the first year and that is the extent of the nurturing.

For those that are tempted to try, my microclimate and planting site: My home is about one mile inland from the ocean but is on a high, very windy bluff overlooking a lake. Any moderation in the temperatures due to water seems to be more than offset by the darned constant wind.

I planted BBB behind the house so it doesn't bear the full brunt of the northeast wind off the lake. It is next to and in the shade of some white pines and oaks---it never gets full sun. However, this part of the state has been under assault from assorted caterpillars for the last couple of years and each spring/summer they have denuded the deciduous trees (even my pines and fir trees!) causing the understory to get more sun than usual for half the growing season---this may be helping it to remain dense for the short-term. Time will tell.

To date, I haven't watered this year (it's been wet) and I haven't fertilized or applied anti-dessicant and the tree has responded with lush new growth and this year has many of those wonderful smelling flowers that perfume the entire yard. I love this tree.

Uconn/Storrs has one planted in the center court of a small U shaped building. I think it's bracken's brown beauty. I went to see it a couple springs back - after a cold winter and it didn't look too hot. It was tree sized (15' if I remember?) and had a nice shape, so I assume it was doing OK in general. I haven't been back. My hollies and rhodies burn here, so I don't think I have any hope. I'll have to settle for the nice pics above.

I planted a very young Magnolia macrophylla seven years ago that is now 12-15' other than rabbit damage early on to the trunk it remains to be strong and trouble free. Of course I don't expect to see it blossom any time soon but I think there is something nice about planting a tree for the next generation. kt

Magnolia macrophylla is the big leaf magnolia. That is not a variety of the evergreen southern magnolia, but it is an interesting tree nonetheless that is not widely planted even though it is perfectly hardy to zone 5 and probably zone 4. I almost never see it. Haskell's in New Bedford has a nice specimen and I have seen a few others here and there, but not many. Many years ago when I lived in Minneapolis, there were a few decent specimens growing in an arboreteum in the western suburbs, which suggests that some varieties may be hardy to zone 4.

I have two southern magnolias (5')in my yard and one BBB (8')that I bought in the Spring. The two southern mags I purchased last year survived winter lows of -9 on two different occasions. Both almost completely defoilated by Spring but have since grown about 9 inches in height and put on a ton of leaves. They look great now. They should be a piece of cake in the northeast. I am very suprised on how they came back after winter.

Magnolia macrophylla *DOES* look interesting -

Magnolia macrophylla (Bigleaf Magnolia) Â This tall tree or shrub (30 to 40 feet) has the largest leaves and blooms of any hardy native North American tree. Leaves are 1 to 3 feet long, and the fragrant flowers are 10 to 12 inches in diameter.

I would imagine the wind might be a problem, with the large leaves...

Here is a link that might be useful: Clemsoin U Magnolia page

dtd,
The macrophylla is deciduous so wind isn't a problem. It is an unusual looking tree but the blossoms are beyond magnificent.
If I am successful in propagating it would anyone be interested in a baby at the swap? kt