Often considered classic trees and shrubs symbolizing the South, the plants under the genus Magnolia are remarkably diverse, including many species suitable for colder climates. Some species are multi-stemmed shrubby plants, while others are classic upright trees that are quite massive in size. Their beauty and variety is what makes these trees so special and coveted by many.

Magnolia trees are generally known for having large, leathery leaves and impressive white or pink flowers that appear very early in spring—often before the leaves even emerge. Flowering magnolias are known to be especially fragrant. Magnolia trees can be evergreen or deciduous, depending on where they are growing, and some species change their growth habits depending on climate and environment. Though a magnolia is not fast-growing, your patience will be well-rewarded.

Caring for Magnolia Trees

Magnolias are not hard to grow, and they are somewhat unique among flowering trees and shrubs in their tolerance for shady conditions—so there is essentially no reason not to plant one of these trees. But if you are planning to plant them in your yard, magnolia trees grow best in soil that has good drainage. These plants generally do not do well with wet feet in boggy soil. A spring feeding of slow-release fertilizer is best to help magnolia trees flourish. But generally speaking, these hearty trees are great for your yard.

Tip

Magnolias generally like acidic soil, and if you have neutral or alkaline soil, you can heavily amend it with peat moss to lower the pH before planting. However, you will need to continue adjusting the pH periodically by mulching around the plant with pine needles or another acidic mulch, or by feeding it with an acid fertilizer to keep the plant healthy.

Types of Magnolia Trees

Here are the 12 most common species to help you identify the types of magnolia trees, along with basic tips on how to grow them.

• 01of 12Anise Magnolia (Magnolia salicifolia) Garden Photo World/Georgianna Lane/Getty ImagesThe anise magnolia has leaves that look somewhat like those of a willow tree or shrub. They are wider than willow leaves but not as wide as the usual magnolia leaf (another common name is willow-leaf magnolia). This deciduous tree will produce white flowers with strappy petals before the leaves unfurl in the spring. The fall color is a pleasing golden yellow.
  • Native Area: Japan
  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 6 to 9
  • Height: Up to 30 feet
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
• 02of 12Bigleaf Magnolia (Magnolia macrophylla) Wendy Cutler/ Getty Images/ CC By 2.0Bigleaf magnolia lives up to its name, producing leaves that can be up to 32 inches long. Like most magnolias, it is normally a deciduous tree, though it may be evergreen in the warmer zones. The blooms, which normally appear in May, are as much as 10 inches across and are white with purple petal bases.
  • Native Area: Southeastern U.S., Mexico
  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 8
  • Height: 30 to 40 feet; occasionally to 60 feet
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
• 03of 12Ashe’s Magnolia (Magnolia ashei) MeganEHansen/ Flickr/ CC By 2.0Ashe’s magnolia can be either a large shrub or a small tree, depending on how it is pruned. It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the bigleaf magnolia (its leaves are as much as 2 feet long). Its name was given in honor of William Willard Ashe of the United States Forest Service. The white flowers have petals up to 1 foot long, blooming after the light-green leaves have emerged in the spring.
  • Native Area: Florida
  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 6 to 9
  • Height: Up to 30 feet
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
• 04of 12Cucumber Tree (Magnolia acuminata) magicflute002 / Getty ImagesCucumber tree magnolia is so named because the fruits look somewhat like the vegetable. This is the most cold-hardy of the magnolias, but while it has the large glossy leaves (up to 10 inches long) and large growth habit of the classic southern magnolias, the greenish, tulip-shaped flowers are much less showy— only about 2 inches across. The fruits that follow the flowers turn from green to red as they mature. This can be a good shade tree or specimen tree for colder climates, provided you are willing to tolerate the mess that goes with the large leaves.
  • Native Area: Appalachian regions of U.S., southern Ontario
  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 8
  • Height: 60 to 80 feet
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
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• 05of 12Lily Magnolia (Magnolia liliiflora) Vicki Gardner / Getty ImagesThe lily magnolia is one of the smaller species, growing as a shrub or small tree. In early spring before the leaves open, this shrub puts out a huge flush of lightly perfumed reddish-purple or pink flowers shaped like lilies. A favorite cultivar, ‘Nigra’, is renowned for deeply colored flowers. After flowering, dark green elliptical leaves appear. This species is a parent of the saucer magnolia.
  • Native Area: Southwest China
  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 7 to 10
  • Height: 8 to 12 feet
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
• 06of 12Kobus Magnolia (Magnolia kubos) Georgianna Lane/ Alloy/ Getty ImagesThe Kobus magnolia is a slow-growing species that exhibits many of the classic magnolia traits—fragrant white flowers tinged with pink that appear before the leaves open, and large, dark-green leaves. Also known as Japanese magnolia or northern Japanese magnolia, it is most often planted as a specimen tree where early-season flowers are desired. This species tends to form multiple trunks, but pruning it back to a central leader will give it a more traditional tree-like shape.Kobus magnolia is one of the parent species (Stella magnolia is the other) that together produce the Loebner magnolia.
  • Native Area: Japan, Korea
  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 8
  • Height: 25 to 50 feet, occasionally 75 feet with very old trees
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
• 07of 12Loebner Magnolia (Magnolia × loebneri)  hkuchera / Getty ImagesThe Loebner magnolia is a hybrid produced by crossing Kobus magnolia and star magnolia. This small tree usually has multiple stems, but you can create a central leader by pruning. Fragrant star-shaped pink and white flowers 4 to 6 inches wide appear in spring before the foliage emerges. The dark green oval leaves are smaller than other magnolias, no more than 5 inches long.
  • Native Area: hybrid plant; no natural range
  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9
  • Height: 20 to 30 feet; occasionally as tall as 60 feet
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
• 08of 12Saucer Magnolia (Magnolia x soulangiana) Landscapes, Seascapes, Jewellery & Action Photographer / Getty Images Created by crossing the lily magnolia and the Yulan magnolia, the saucer magnolia can either be a large shrub with multiple stems or a small tree. The white blooms with pink interiors typically appear in early spring before the leaves appear. Many cultivars are available offering different flower colors in the purple range. This is the most commonly grown magnolia in the United States.
  • Native Area: hybrid plant; no natural range
  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 9
  • Height: 20 to 25 feet
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
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• 09of 12Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) igaguri_1 / Getty ImagesWhen people think of magnolias or read about them in novels, the southern magnolia is very likely the plant that comes to mind. This magnolia tree’s flower is the state flower of Louisiana and Mississippi. Southern magnolia is a large evergreen tree that needs lots of space. The elliptical leaves are large and leathery, up to 10 inches long, and the white flowers appearing in mid-summer to early autumn can be as much as 12 inches across. Though, this type of magnolia has a cousin, the “Teddy Bear” southern magnolia, which is smaller and a good option for a potted magnolia tree. While most magnolias prefer full sun but tolerate some shade, this is a magnolia that actually does best in part shade. Keep an eye out if your southern magnolia has yellow leaves; they could simply indicate a natural phase in the tree’s growth cycle or mean that the tree or its soil needs some attention.
  • Native Area: Southeastern U.S.
  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 7 to 9
  • Height: 60 to 80 feet
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
• 10of 12Star Magnolia (Magnolia stellata) Cyndi Monaghan/Getty ImagesStar magnolia is a deciduous small tree or large shrub that produces star-shaped white flowers in later winter or early spring, before any other flowering tree, and before even most spring bulbs. When possible, plant it in a sheltered location to help it flower in the spring, as the buds are easily damaged by frost, which could be the reason why the magnolia buds won’t open, if you’re having that issue.
  • Native Area: Japan
  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 4 to 8
  • Height: 15 to 20 feet
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
• 11of 12Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) Masahiro Nakano/a.collectionRF/Getty ImagesRegionally, this plant may also be known as beaver tree, swamp magnolia, or laurel magnolia. In cooler locations, the sweetbay magnolia is usually a deciduous shrubby plant with multiple stems, while in warmer zones it tends to be an upright tree that remains evergreen. It is an excellent plant for boggy locations or clay soils. Waxy white flowers appear in midsummer to early autumn; the shiny green oblong leaves have silvery undersides.
  • Native Area: Eastern U.S.
  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 10
  • Height: 10 to 35 feet
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
• 12of 12Umbrella Magnolia (Magnolia tripetala)  Joshua McCullough, PhytoPhoto / Getty ImagesThe umbrella magnolia is named for the enormous shiny leaves (up to 24 inches long and 10 inches across), which droop down around the ends of the branches. This is a multi-stemmed small tree; its native habitat is the understory forests of Appalachia, so if you’re wondering how to care for a magnolia tripetala, know first that this is a plant that does very well in shady locations. The creamy white flowers, 6 to 10 inches across, appear just after the leaves emerge around late spring to early summer. While they’re fragrant, they’re not particularly sweet-smelling.
  • Native Area: Eastern North America
  • USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 8
  • Height: 15 to 30 feet
  • Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade

Magnolias are especially susceptible to fungal diseases, which generally manifest in various types of leaf spots.¹ Trees and shrubs in wet, shady, humid locations are most likely to be affected. Keeping the magnolia tree or shrub well pruned to remove diseased or damaged branches may prevent fungal diseases; or, preventive sprays of fungicide can help. Careful pruning to improve air circulation is also a good measure to head off fungal problems in your magnolia tree care regimen.

FAQ

• Where do magnolia trees grow best?Magnolia trees can grow just about anywhere in the United States under the right conditions. The trees typically thrive in environments with acidic soil that has good drainage.
• Are magnolia trees hard to take care of?Magnolia trees are not hard to take care of. They are quite low maintenance, so long as they are planted in the right conditions. If your yard’s soil is not amenable to magnolias, there will be some extra care required.
• When do magnolia trees bloom?Magnolia trees bloom anywhere from late March through July depending on the species.
• When is the best time to plant a magnolia tree?The best time to plant a magnolia tree depends on the climate. Late fall through early winter is the prime time to plant magnolia trees in warmer climates, while early spring is best for colder climates.