Magnolias: Great Flowering Trees for the Garden

The top flowering trees sought out in Ohio garden center and nurseries are:

• Saucer and Star Magnolias
• Flowering Dogwoods
• Ornamental Flowering Cherry Trees
• Flowering Pear Trees
• Flowering Crabapples

Each of these tree varieties not only bring spring color to the garden with their flowers, but after blooming, the leaf colors and textures, shapes, and fruits of these trees provide  additional color and landscape interest long after they have finished blooming.
　
Let us  begin our discussion about  the Magnolia.

There are many varieties of magnolia available to Ohio gardeners, but the two most widely available in Ohio nurseries are the Star (Magnolia stellata) and Saucer (Magnolia x soulangiana) Magnolias and their exceptional cultivars. When in bloom, these two magnolias are covered with flowers and provide quite a dramatic splash of spring color.

Other magnolias, Southern (Magnolia grandiflora) and Sweet Bay (Magnolia virginiana) have very fragrant flowers which appear after the trees have leafed out. Though scenting the air with a great fragrance, the Southern and Sweet Bay Magnolia flower displays are not as dramatic as the Star and Saucer Magnolias.

Star Magnolia is an early bloomer and is considered a small tree due to its mature height of 10-15 feet. Because of the tree's dramatic white flowers, in the landscape, the tree is used either as a multi-stemmed single specimen plant or can be used in a mass planting of more than one tree.

The Saucer Magnolia is a far larger multi-stemmed tree and can reach a height of 20-30 feet with an equally large spread. Saucer magnolia flowers appear like large tulips and have the color of a light white and pink tips.

Because the Saucer magnolia grows large, this tree is not planted close to building foundation and is more suited to be planted where the tree can grow and branch out with no restrictions.

The Southern Magnolia is not suited to being grown in northeast Ohio, but is hardy to growing zones 6, which would as the more southern states of Virginia and North Carolina. The Southern Magnolia is a large tree and can reach a height of 60-70 feet. The tree is semi-evergreen and the flowers are large white and offer an exceptional fragrance in the landscape.

The Sweet Bay Magnolia is catching on in popularity for Ohio gardeners. Like the Southern Magnolia, the flower display is not spectacular, but when in bloom the flowers provide a very noticeable perfumed fragrance to the air. The Sweet Bay Magnolia, in the northern climates, can grow 15-20 feet and is generally place in the landscape as near a patio or deck, where its fragrant flowers can be appreciated for well over a month.