Tulip magnolia ∗ The 10 best planting and care tips

Characteristics

• Scientific name: Magnolia × soulangeana
• Family: Magnolia family (Magnoliaceae)
• Growth type: shrub, small tree
• Growth: expansive, loose-upright
• Growth height: 400 cm to 800 cm
• Growth width: 500 cm to 900 cm
• Flower: bell-shaped, tulip-shaped
• Flowering time: April and May
• Leaf: deciduous
• Fruit: gathering follicle fruit
• Hardiness: sensitive to late frost
• Use: single position

growth

The tulips-magnolia is a phenomenal hybrid of purple magnolia (Magnolia liliiflora) and Yulan magnolia (Magnolia denudata). At the Royal Horticultural Institute Fromont in France, at the beginning of the 19th century, Century the triumph of the hybrids began. Today, Magnolia × soulangeana is one of the most popular, most planted magnolia species in Central Europe. These key growth figures explain why this is so:

• growth habit: large, sprawling shrub or short-stemmed, broad-crowned tree with profuse flowering.
• growth height: 4 m to 6 m, rarely to 8 m.
• growth width: 5 m to 7 m, rarely to 9 m.
• bark: initially brown and smooth, later grey-brown and fissured.
• growth rate: 20 cm to 30 cm per year.
• root: Shallow roots

One tulip magnolia gaining in beauty from year to year. The hybrid reaches its peak of splendor between the ages of 30 and 50 years.

blossom

The tulip magnolia owes its auspicious name to the shapely flowers. Hosts of striking individual blossoms are responsible for the fairy-tale splendor of the spring bloomers. These characteristics characterize a magnolia blossom:

• heyday: April and May (grafted varieties from March to June)
• special feature: Bud initiation in the previous year, thick flower buds unfold before the leaves sprout.
• flower shape: bell-shaped to tulip-shaped.
• flower size: 10cm to 15cm.
• flower color: white ground colour, tinged with pink to purple, red stamens.
• position: solitary, terminal, erect.
• fertilization: domestic beetles

The original species Magnolia soulangeana takes up to 10 years before presenting the first flowers. Refined varieties put on their first flowers a few years earlier.

Fairytale flower dream - Tulip magnolia in the middle of the flowering season

leaves

After flowering, it's time for the leaves to decorate for the rest of the garden season. You can recognize a magnolia leaf by these characteristics:

• leaf shape: short-stalked, oval, obovate with smooth leaf margin.
• sheet size: 12 cm to 20 cm long, 4 cm to 6 cm wide.
• leaf color: fresh green, light green underneath, yellowish-brown in autumn.
• arrangement: alternate

fruit

A pollinated magnolia flower develops into a cone-shaped follicle fruit. This pink-red cob is up to 10 centimeters long. Ripe pods burst open, releasing a red seed. This seed dangles for some time out of the open follicle by the long seed thread. For a tulip magnolia in the garden, however, it is the rule that the infructescence axes fall off prematurely in an immature, green state due to the lack of fertilization of the flowers.

hardiness

When it comes to the hardiness of a tulip magnolia, weal and woe are closely related. The hybrid has inherited a robust winter hardiness of down to -25° Celsius from both of its parent plants. Due to the early flowering period, however, the swelling buds and opened flowers are susceptible to late frosts. Furthermore, the shallow roots can suffer from frost damage in the first five years after planting in harsh locations.

Plant Tulip Magnolia

Informed hobby gardeners decide to buy a tulip magnolia for good reason. Compared to other flowering shrubs, vegetatively propagated magnolias have a very difficult time growing and flowering in the garden. the sowing of seeds usually leads to bitter disappointment, because undesirable properties prevail in the seedlings. Where and how to plant a tulip magnolia correctly, read here:

Buy Tulip Magnolia

Tree nurseries and garden centers offer tulip magnolias in various qualities and growth heights. The range extends from inexpensive container plants to shrubs with wire balls that have been transplanted several times to the fully grown tulip magnolia tree. The following table should serve as a guide when buying the perfect magnolia for your garden:

Location

At this location, a tulip magnolia unfolds an optimum of its blossom splendor:

• Sunny to partially shaded position.
• Important: wind-protected solitary position with a house wall or hedge in the floral back.
• sour garden floor, fresh and moist, humus and loosely permeable.

A magnolia prefers to stretch its long, flat roots in bog beds and rhododendron soil out of.

planting tips

The best time to plant magnolias is in spring, when late frosts are no longer to be expected. This way the shallow roots have enough time to set up well before the first winter. If you miss this date, you can plant container plants in the ground all year round. Read a summary of helpful planting tips here:

• The planting pit is twice as big as the root ball.
• Half of the excavation is mixed with rhododendron soil or leaf compost.
• A water-soaked root ball can grow better.
• The tulip magnolia is planted just as deeply as it was in the nursery.
• A support stake protects the shrub from windthrow.
• The earth is pressed down to ensure good ground contact and washed in with rainwater.

Drought stress and late frosts are the most common causes when magnolias fail to grow. For this reason mulch you the tree disc or plant ground cover for acidic garden soil, such as heather (Calluna), heather (Erica) or cranberries (Vaccinium vitis-idaea).

digression

Tulip Magnolia Tulip Tree Differences

Caring for Tulip Magnolia

The tulip magnolia is very easy to care for. A regular supply of water and nutrients, occasional pruning and simple winter protection will keep the beauty of the flowers happy. The following care tips explain what really matters:

Pour

• Water the tulip magnolia in dry conditions after a previous finger test.
• Rule of thumb: It is better to water thoroughly twice a week than in small amounts every day.
• Suitable irrigation water: collected rainwater or tap water that has been stagnant for several days.

Fertilize

• In March and June fertilize with 3 l acidic leaf compost and 100 grams horn shavings.(€9.00 at Amazon*)
• Just pour in organic fertilizer and do not rake in to protect the shallow roots.
• Alternatively, apply a liquid moor bed fertilizer according to the manufacturer's instructions.

To cut

Because magnolia pruning care is a little tricky, we've dedicated an in-depth tutorial to this topic for you to follow here can read. Here is the short version for quick readers:

• basic rule: Pruning cannot improve the flowering and branching of a Tulip Magnolia.
• occasion for a cut: Slimming of shrub or treetop.
• cutting date: immediately after flowering, before budding for the next bloom.
• incision: excessively long and dead branches a string to cut.

Please wear gloves when you attend to cutting care. The bark and wood of a tulip magnolia contain the alkaloid magnoflorin. This weak poison can cause annoying skin irritations in sensitive people.

hibernate

The conditional winter hardiness of a tulip magnolia has already been discussed in this annotated fact sheet. As a reminder, the most important aspects in Telegram style:

• Winter protection for the flat-rooted plant: in the first five years, mulch the root disc or plant ground cover.
• Winter protection for the flowers: put a winter fleece over the bush or tree every spring when late frosts are announced.

Popular Varieties

The first hybrid Magnolia soulangeana laid the foundation for these beautiful magnolia varieties in 1820:

• Alexandrina: historic premium variety boasts white flowers with a red iridescent base, height of growth up to 800 cm.
• lennei: delights with purple bell-shaped flowers and pink-white inside, height of growth up to 600 cm.
• genius: New Zealand variety with 15 cm large, dark red flowers and robust winter hardiness, growth height up to 500 cm.
• Lennei Alba: grafted tulip magnolia with bright white bell-shaped flowers, growth height up to 600 cm.
• pink beauty: compact noble variety with double, pastel pink flowers from March to June, growth height and width up to 400 cm.

FAQ

Is the Tulip Magnolia Poisonous?

Yes, the Tulip Magnolia is classified as slightly poisonous. The reason for this is the alkaloid magnoflorin, which is primarily contained in the bark and wood. Contact with human skin can lead to symptoms of poisoning, such as itching, reddening and blistering.

When is the best time to plant a Tulip Magnolia?

The ideal time window for planting in the garden is twice a year. In spring, please wait until the last late frosts have passed before planting a tulip magnolia. Planting is also possible in early autumn, but not immediately before the first severe frost.

Does the high trunk of the tulip magnolia tree keep growing?

No, the trunk height of a tulip magnolia can no longer be changed. This applies to a 2 mstandard and an 80 cm trunk alike. However, a magnolia tree can certainly gain height over the years as the crown grows.