my collection of magnolias: acuminata acuminata 'Koban Dori' acuminata 'Moegi Dori' Alba Superba' Alexandrina Amabilis amoena Apollo' Athene Atlas biondii Black Tulip brooklynensis 'Eva Maria' brooklynensis 'Woodsman' brooklynensis 'Yellow Bird' Brozzoni Butterflies' Caerhay's Belle campbelli 'Charles Raffil' campbelli 'Darjeeling' campbelli mollicomata 'Lanarth' Chameleon Charles Coates Chrysanthemiflora Coral Lake cylindrica cylindrica 'Take One' Daphne Darrel Dean dawsoniana delavayi denudata Elizabeth' Galaxy George Henry Kern globosa Golden Sun Goldstar' grandiflora grandiflora 'Angustifolia' grandiflora 'Double Nantes' grandiflora 'Edith Bogue' grandiflora 'Exmouth' grandiflora 'Galissoniere' grandiflora 'Goliath' grandiflora 'Harold Poole' grandiflora 'Little Gem' grandiflora 'Majestic Beauty' grandiflora 'Maryland' grandiflora 'Russet' grandiflora 'Samuel Sommer' grandiflora 'St George' grandiflora 'Timeless Beauty' grandiflora 'Trevey' grandiflora 'Victoria' Hattie Cartham' heaven scent hypoleuca Ivory Chalice Joe Mc Daniel kosar 'Ann' kosar 'Betty' kosar 'Jane' kosar 'Judy' kosar 'Pinkie' kosar 'Ricky' kosar 'Susan' Lanhydrock Lennei lennei alba liliflora 'Darkest Purple' Lilleney loebneri 'Merril' macrophylla Manchu Fan maudiae miss honeybee officinalis officinalis 'Biloba' Peppermint Stick' Philip Treguna Pickard's Opal Pickard's stardust Pristine Red Lucky Rouged Alabaster Royal Star rustica rubra salicifolia 'Jermyns' sargentiana 'Robusta' Serene sieboldii sieboldii 'Colossus' sinensis Spectrum Sprengerii sprengerii 'Burncoose' Star Wars Stellata 'Jane Platt' Stellata Rosea Summer solstice Sun Ray thompsoniana Tina Durio Todd Gresham Trengwainton Glory tripetala Verbanica virginiana virginiana ' Henry hicks' virginiana 'Havener' Vulcan Wada's Memory' wieseneri wilsonii Yellow Fever Yellow Lantern' yellow river yunnanensis (Michelia) zenii

Hoovb, Right off the bat, I will tell you that is planted too deep. Too much of the bark is below the soil level. Please read on internet about planting a magnolia. I just bought a magnolia today, an evergreen, a michelia, and it says part sun. The woman at the nursery said that if you live in an area with very hot weather in summer, (our sun is wicked), part shade would probably be best. So, my advise is to dig it up, pot it up, and see where else you can plant it so the leaves won't fry. Some people will tell you full sun is fine, honestly it really depends on where you live, and you know if the sun is wicked where you live or not. Like they say in the south, a little afternoon shade will be appreciated. LOL

Thanks for all the input. I'm sold on the star magnolia. I'll read up a bit of proper fertilization to see if I can boost it's growth a bit. But for the location I am thinking of, slow growing is fine. It is kinda near some overhead telephone/electric wires - so it sounds like I won't have to worry about the tree interfering with the lines for about 20 years. And at that point I most likely will not be living here any more. I definitely want white. It's going in the front of my house, and I prefer white flowers in the front of my house. I have a forsythia (came with the house) in that general location now, and I just don't like the yellow.

Merrill gets HUGE. I planted mine about 1979--supposed to be a small tree. I have since found out that a lot of these predictions on relatively new plants are complete guesswork. Mine grew like a weed--tho a gorgeous one--and is still doing so. They probably thought it would be small because of the one parent, M. stellata. Then, around 1990, I was at a lecture where a woman from Chestnut Hill, Mrs. Haffenreffer, was speaking about daffodils. She invited everyone to come see her spring garden. She also mentioned that she had one of the first Merrill magnolias, direct from the Arnold Arboretum which developed it. She said it was 50' tall and still growing! I took her up on her open invitation and saw it for myself. It is a magnificent tree, unbelievable in bloom and fragrance, rock-hardy, pest-free but, boy, does it need space. It has eaten a good chunk of my garden and part of my neighbor's (they are not happy with that). For those who are gluttons for plant knowledge, read on: In the book "The World of Magnolias" by Dorothy J. Callaway, 1994, Timber Press, the author, an authority on the subject, states that M. stellata is not a separate species but a variety of the Japanese and Korean species, M. kobus. She gives the lengthy and interesting background for this botanical blockbuster. Further, Merrill and other cultivars may vary in size because individuals of M. kobus grown in northern areas of the species' natural range may be much larger than more southerly specimens. For these seed-grown cultivars, they might have been the offspring of a Big Daddy--hence, Mrs. Haffenreffer's Merrill and possibly mine. More than you want to know!