Magnolias Sparkle With
Bright Color in Spring
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The extravagant and fragrant blooms of deciduous magnolias make a bold statement of beauty in the spring. Whether grown as trees or multi-stem shrubs, they bring life and color to the garden in spring.

Galaxy Magnolia forms a strong central leader and develops quickly into a pyramidal to oval shaped tree of about 30 feet with a spread of about 15 feet. Its tulip-shaped flowers are reddish purple in color. The main flush of blooms is early in the spring before leaf break, giving the effect of purplish cones perched on bare branches.

 Leonard Messel Magnolia blooms explode like pink starbursts from fat, fuzzy buds borne on bare winter branches. Purple-pink in bud, the large blooms open to reveal petals that are deep pink on the outside and light pink inside. Height and spread of this rounded, low branched tree are approximately 20 feet.

The emerging foliage of a Leonard Messel Magnolia might have inspired Georgia O’Keefe to pick up her paintbrushes and create a masterpiece. The sensuous unfurling of a garnet leaflet against a backdrop of pale green, vein-laced foliage gives promise of future beauty.

Merrill Magnolia flowers so heavily that it resembles a white cloud afloat in the landscape. Each 3 to 3.5 inch flower is composed of 15 narrow white petals. This cultivar flowers reliably and heavily at an early age. Multi-stem forms mature in a rounded, low-branched shape, reaching approximately 25 feet in height and spread. Tree forms are straight-trunked and sturdy and will develop into elegant small trees, ideal for today's smaller scale residential landscapes.

Royal Star Magnolia is an ideal multi-stem magnolia for smaller spaces, eventually attaining a height of 15 feet and spread of 10 feet. Pink buds open to pure white, three to four-inch diameter flowers prior to the emergence of leaves in the spring. Green summer foliage gives way to yellow-bronze in the fall.

Rustica Rubra Magnolia sports rose-purple goblet shaped flowers with a whitish interior. This upright, rounded and spreading tree attains a height and spread of about 20 feet.
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