SCIENTIFIC NAME: Magnolia grandiflora

COMMON NAME: southern magnolia

LEAVES: Thick, waxy and very coarse. Up to 1' in length. Leaf scar forms a ring around the twig. Brown back is pubescent while green back is glabrous. Revolute margins. Brown backing is a highly desired characteristic.

FLOWERS: Large white and fragrant in May-June.

FRUIT: Red seed in large cone-like structure.

BARK: Smooth trunk.

GROWTH RATE: 2'/yr.

OTHER: Native to low, moist sites, but can be used on high, dry sites. Can be used up to Washington D.C. Evergreen, but with some natural leaf drop in June. Grows 60' to 80' tall but can grow smaller or larger. Flowers from May to June and has a red fruit cluster in fall. Because most are grown from seed, it is hard to predict when their first bloom will be. Some will bloom in 5 years while others will need 12. The tree can be limbed up (skirts up) or not (skirts down). With the skirts up there will be continual raking of leaves during the year. The green back form is less hardy and not as attractive. Grows best if trained with 1 central leader. Transplants best in the spring. Can get ambrosia beetle damage (bore into the trunk and then goes down into the roots). Many cultivars available. Among our most distinguished and honored trees. Moonlight, common gardenia, and southern magnolia define the South for many people. Southern magnolia is the definitive species at the club house at Augusta National and every major plantation of the old South. The fragrant flowers conjure up memories of days gone by for many people. There have been 30'- 40' tall trees (13" caliper) planted in a landscape in Birmingham and Atlanta with excellent results. Don't move this tree in the summer unless there are no good alternatives.

CULTIVARS: 'Little Gem,' 'D. D. Blanchard,' 'Claudia Wannamaker,' 'Margaret Davis,' 'Glen St. Mary,' 'Bracken's Brown Beauty'.