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The Roy Overland Charitable Trust
Julian Sutton (2022)
Recommended citation
Sutton, J. (2022), 'Magnolia Cultivars A' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.
Our primary references for cultivar information are Jim Gardiner’s (2000) ‘Magnolias: a Gardener’s Guide’ and Matt Lobdell’s (2021) register of cultivars for Magnolia Society International. Further references are cited where relevant. Other important accounts of cultivars include Dorothy Callaway’s (1994) ‘The World of Magnolias’ and (in German) Beet Heerdegen and Reto Eisenhut’s (2020) ‘Magnolien und Tulpenbäume: Magnoliaceae’. Magnolia Society International’s journal ‘Magnolia’ is an ongoing trove of information.
See Magnolia × wieseneri ‘Aashild Kalleberg’.
M. × soulangeana 'Burgundy' × M. 'Vulcan'
RHS Hardiness Rating: H5
USDA Hardiness Zone: 7-9
Flowers goblet-shaped, before the leaves; tepals 9, c. 10 × 9 cm, lilac-purple outside, pale pink inside. A small, upright tree selected by Vance Hooper, then of Duncan & Davies, New Zealand, 1995.
See Magnolia × soulangeana ‘Alba Superba’.
"M. cylindrica" (probably a hybrid) × (M. × veitchii 'Peter Veitch')
RHS Hardiness Rating: H5
USDA Hardiness Zone: 7-9
Flowers precocious, to 30 cm across, cup-shaped but later splaying open; tepals 9–12, broad, white with a hint of pink or green at the base; stamens with crimson anthers and pink filaments. Leaves obovate to elliptic, 17–20 × 7–10 cm, green above, greyish-puberulent beneath. An upright small tree. It originated in Cornwall, a seedling raised at Trewithen in 1970 and given to Lanhydrock, where the original measured 8 m × 146 cm in 2016 (The Tree Register 2022). The seed parent would almost certainly have been one of the Lushan hybrid seedlings (see under M. cylindrica). The name reflects the size and poise of the white flowers which appear to ‘float’ on its branches.
(M. × soulangeana 'Lennei') × M. sprengeri 'Diva'
RHS Hardiness Rating: H5
USDA Hardiness Zone: 7-9
Flowers precocious (April in S England), resembling M. × soulangeana in shape, light pink ageing white. A very floriferous small, upright tree raised by Maurice Foster, Kent, before 2018 (Millais Nurseries 2022; Frank P Matthews 2022).
See Magnolia × soulangeana ‘Alexandrina’.
See Magnolia × foggii ‘Allspice’.
See Magnolia grandiflora ‘TMGH’.
See Magnolia × soulangeana ‘Amabilis’.
See Magnolia × brooklynensis ‘Amber’.
See Magnolia campbellii ‘Ambrose Congreve’.
See Magnolia × brooklynensis ‘Ambrosia’.
See Magnolia grandiflora ‘Angustifolia’.
M. acuminata × M. 'Elizabeth'
RHS Hardiness Rating: H6
USDA Hardiness Zone: 6-9
Flowers emerging with the leaves, erect, persisting for several weeks; tepals yellow-green maturing deep yellow, paler inside, broadly obovate, ~11 × 6 cm. A small, upright tree raised by August Kehr; grown at Arboretum Wespelaar and named by Philippe de Spoelberch in memory of his sister.
See Magnolia insignis ‘Anita Figlar’.
M. liliiflora 'Nigra' × M. stellata 'Rosea'
RHS Hardiness Rating: H6
USDA Hardiness Zone: 4-8
Flowers erect, precocious and early, to 10 cm across, red-purple in bud, paler on opening; tepals 6–8; buds sickle-shaped, resembling M. liliiflora. A medium to large rounded shrub. A de Vos & Kosar hybrid raised at the US National Arboretum before 1968; named for one of Francis de Vos’ daughters. Highly rated by Philippe de Spoelberch, Belgium (pers. comm. 2021).
M. denudata × probably M. sargentiana var. robusta
Synonyms / alternative names
Magnolia 'Ann Ross'
RHS Hardiness Rating: H6
USDA Hardiness Zone: 6-9
Flowers precocious, over a 4 week period from late March in S England, erect, to 21 cm across; tepals 9, narrow and pointed, the outer ones drooping, white with a rich pink flush outside, deepening to red at the base, the inner surface white with a pink base. An upright, small to medium tree, a seedling from M. denudata growing close to M. sargentiana (Treseder 1978). Selected before 1973 at Nymans, Sussex; named for Anne Parsons, Countess of Rosse, who retained a role in the garden at Nymans after it passed to the National Trust in 1953 (Wikipedia 2022; Tobin 2018). Considered ‘one of the best hardy, modern hybrid magnolias’ by Piet Vergeldt Boomkwekerij (2022), and highly rated by Phillipe de Spoelberch (pers. comm. 2021).
RHS Hardiness Rating: H5
USDA Hardiness Zone: 7-9
Flowers precocious, to 25 cm across, initially goblet-shaped but splaying open later; teplas white with a hint of pink at the base. A vigorous small to medium sized tree much resembling ‘Albatross’ (another M. cylindrica hybrid) in flower and habit (Pan-Global Plants 2022). Raised 1990 by August Kehr, NC, from Magnolia Society International seed labelled “M. cylindrica” (and hence probably itself a hybrid, see under M. cylindrica). Not hardy at Arboretum Wespelaar, Belgium (P. de Spoelberch pers. comm. 2021).
M. 'Jurmag1' × (M. × soulangeana 'Deep Purple Dream')
RHS Hardiness Rating: H6
USDA Hardiness Zone: 6-9
Flowers precocious, goblet-shaped, magenta purple, with wide tepals. A vigorous small tree flowering well from an early age. Selected by Michael Gottschalk, Germany, before 2018 (Frank P Matthews 2022).
probably (hybrid of M. liliiflora 'Nigra') × M. campbellii 'Lanarth'
RHS Hardiness Rating: H5
USDA Hardiness Zone: 6-9
Flowers precocious (late March to April in S England, July–August in New Zealand), star-shaped, 25–30 cm across; tepals rather narrow, deep violet in early flowers, deep lilac-pink in later flowers, paler inside. A very free-flowering small, spreading tree, often mutistemmed. Raised by Felix Jury, New Zealand, released 1990 (Jury 2017; Jury & Jury 2021).
M. acuminata 'Fertile Myrtle' × M. sprengeri 'Diva'
RHS Hardiness Rating: H6
USDA Hardiness Zone: 6-9
Flowers with or just before the leaves; outer tepals apricot-yellow, inner tepals pale pink, the overall effect peach. A very floriferous small tree raised before 2002 by Phil Savage, WI (Magnolia Society International 2003; Frank P Matthews 2022). M. ‘Peachy’ has the same parentage.
M. sprengeri var. diva × M. × soulangeana 'Brozzoni'
RHS Hardiness Rating: H5
USDA Hardiness Zone: 6-9
Flowers precocious (April in S England), cup-shaped, to 30 cm across, with some fragrance; tepals white flushed red-purple at the base, heavy-textured. A small to medium tree selected by Phil Savage, WI, before 2011 (Piet Vergeldt Boomkwekerij 2022).
M. denudata × M. sprengeri 'Diva'
RHS Hardiness Rating: H5
USDA Hardiness Zone: 6-8
Flowers precocious, in April (S England), upright, initially cup-shaped opening out to 30 cm across, fragrant; tepals 12, outside pale pink with purple-red base, inside pearly white. Reputed to be a Gresham hybrid, in the nursery trade by 2003, but details are scant.
M. × soulangeana 'Lennei Alba' × M. 'Mark Jury'
Awards
AGM
RHS Hardiness Rating: H5
USDA Hardiness Zone: 7-9
Flowers precocious, late March to April in S England, cup-and-saucer-shaped, very large and fragrant; tepals thick, white with a rather sharply defined violet-pink base outside. A vigorous medium tree raised by Felix Jury, New Zealand, introduced 1988. ‘Lotus’ and ‘Milky Way’ share this parentage (Jury 2017; Jury & Jury 2021).
M. × soulangeana 'Lennei' × M. 'Mark Jury'
RHS Hardiness Rating: H5
USDA Hardiness Zone: 6-9
Flowers precocious, extremely large to 35 cm across and with tepals to 15 cm wide, soft lilac-pink, held upright ‘like a giant pink cabbage’ (Jury & Jury 2021). A vigorous, small to medium tree deserving a sheltered site to avoid wind shredding its flowers. Flower buds only at branch tips, unlike many Jury Magnolias; introduced 1989 by Felix Jury, New Zealand (Jury 2017). The less vigorous ‘Iolanthe’ shares this parentage.
M. 'Star Wars' × M. sargentiana var. robusta
RHS Hardiness Rating: H5
USDA Hardiness Zone: 6-9
Flowers precocious (late March to early April, S England), cup-and-saucer shaped, large (to 30 cm across); tepals rich pink outside, paler inside. An upright, columnar to pyramidal small tree flowering reliably from an early age. Bred by Oswald ‘Os’ Blumhardt, New Zealand, before 2000. Williams, Gardiner & Gallagher (2016) highlight it as an up-and-coming cultivar in Europe.
(M. × veitchii 'Isca') × (M. × soulangeana)
RHS Hardiness Rating: H6
USDA Hardiness Zone: 6-9
Flowers precocious, large and tulip-shaped, white with basal pink flush. A small (potentially medium) tree selected by Tim Thornton, UK, and distributed in Europe (Frank P Matthews 2022). Philippe de Spoelberch, Belgium, considers it disappointing (pers. comm. 2021).