Saucer Magnolia

Flowers as large as saucers! The Saucer Magnolia (Magnolia x soulangeana) is an absolutely beautiful ornamental tree! Spring brings a profusion of cup-shaped, giant blooms for your spring enjoyment, year after year!

The most endearing feature of this tree is its early spring, saucer-shaped blossoms that are 5-10 inches wide. Each in shades of white, pink with a purple blush and white interiors. The unique blooms lend the tree an enchanting appearance as the flowers appear as delicate goblets carried among the leafless branches.

Depending on your growing zone, Saucer Magnolia blooms in late February through April, and can rebloom during the summer months and occasionally winter in warm winter climates!

The sweetly fragrant flowers will soon draw nectar and pollen-gathering insects to your yard. Hummingbirds in particular will love to sip from the blossomed cups as the Magnolia serves up its spring bounty.

As summer advances, vibrant medium green leaves will fill out your Magnolia. The big, broad leaves are thick, soft leaves. Each with smooth margins and curiously fuzzy undersides! Birds love nesting in the dense branches!

Without pruning, this tree takes on a multi-stemmed branching habit that lends it a lovely rounded form, with natural symmetry that will compliment any location in your yard. Winter brings out the lovely smooth bark that is silver-gray.

In the fall, your Magnolia's leaves will turn an earthy yellow-brown, to accent the more typical brighter fall colors. Autumn also brings unique seed pods to your tree. Long tan pods are so unique as they open to reveal orangy red, shiny seeds poking out through the fuzzy tan pods. These seeds are eaten by so many songbirds, your tree will be buzzing with wildlife!

How to Use Saucer Magnolia In The Landscape

The Magnolia prefers a bit of protection at first, so placement beside your house or outbuilding would be a fantastic choice. These gorgeous flowering trees are wonderful anchors and accent plants. They serve as a lovely specimen plant for your front or side yard.

A highly ornamental tree, the multi-trunked form serves as both a large shrub or small tree, all depending on how you prune them! The naturally symmetrical, rounded shape brings loads of curb-appeal to your landscape!

This branching makes Saucer Magnolia an amazingly vibrant large shrub for blocking the neighbor's or adds to the privacy level of your home from a busy street.

For an impressive windbreak or screen, Saucer Magnolias provide wonderful shade and privacy! Urban conditions are no problem for the Saucer Magnolia and it will become the hotspot for wildlife in your landscape!

#ProPlantTips For Care

For Magnolia, full sun is ideal, requiring at least six hours of direct, unfiltered sunlight each day. This will give you the most flowering and best color. Hardy in USDA growing zones 5-9, these trees are cold hardy and heat resistant. Each bud is covered in a fuzzy bud scale to protect them from spring frosts.

Magnolia grows in almost any well-drained soil, preferring acidic, loamy, moist planting medium that is organically rich. Also doing well if your soil is sandy and even in good draining clay soils. 

Requiring average moisture, these trees do very well in all conditions and are partly drought tolerant once they're fully established.

A generous layer of mulch helps retain soil moisture as well as insulate the root system from heat and chill. A mulch layer also acts as a buffer if your tree is planted directly in your lawn. The silvery-gray bark is susceptible to mower and weed-wacker damage. You can also ring your tree with shade-loving perennials to protect the trunk.

Gorgeous ornamental trees that are easy-care and reliable bloomers are always highly sought-after for their high-impact style and versatile form.

Don't let another year go by without these unique spring flowers, order one for yourself today from Nature Hills Nursery and you'll enjoy it for years to come!