Magnolia trees are one of the most popular flowering trees in the United States. Known for their stunning flowers that bloom in spring and summer magnolia trees make a beautiful addition to any landscape. If you’ve been thinking about planting a magnolia tree in your yard you may be wondering where to find magnolia trees for sale near you. With the right information and timing, it’s easy to find these gorgeous trees available from local and online nurseries.
When Is The Best Time To Buy Magnolia Trees?
The best time to purchase magnolia trees is in early spring, before growth starts This gives the magnolia time to develop new roots before putting energy into new growth. Buy the smallest tree available that is well-rooted A smaller tree will transplant and establish more easily than a larger one. Container magnolias can be planted throughout the growing season but are easiest to care for when planted in spring.
Bare root magnolias should only be planted in early spring while they are still dormant. The roots need time to recover from the transplanting process before the leaves begin to bud. Plant bare root magnolias as soon as possible after purchasing.
Where To Find Magnolia Trees Nearby
Local Nurseries and Garden Centers
One of the best places to find magnolia trees for sale is at local nurseries and garden centers. Most carry a selection of magnolia varieties suitable for your growing zone. The benefit of purchasing locally is you can see and choose the exact tree you want. Check for:
- Healthy looking bark, no cracks or damage
- Strong, flexible branches
- Lots of fibrous roots if bare root
- Moist soil but no standing water in the container
Ask questions about the magnolia variety, mature size, growth rate, sunlight needs, etc. Local experts can provide planting and care advice for your specific conditions.
Visit nurseries early in spring to find the best selection. Call ahead to check availability if you’re looking for a particular variety.
Big Box Stores
Large home improvement chains like Home Depot and Lowe’s stock magnolia trees while supplies last. The selection may be more limited than a specialty nursery, but big box stores can be a convenient option. Check plant health and condition carefully before purchasing.
Big box magnolia varieties are often smaller, container-grown trees under 6 feet tall. Larger container sizes are sometimes available. Delivery or in-store pickup options make buying easier.
Online Nurseries
Ordering magnolia trees online has become popular for finding specific varieties, sizes, or hard-to-find cultivars. Reputable online nurseries ship healthy, established trees nationwide.
Look for online sellers with strong customer reviews and satisfaction ratings. Check the shipping dates for your growing zone to ensure magnolias arrive at the optimal planting time. Rush delivery is sometimes available for an extra fee.
Popular Magnolia Tree Varieties
With over 200 magnolia species, there are many flowering varieties to choose from. Some of the most popular magnolia trees for landscapes and gardens include:
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Saucer Magnolia: Large, goblet-shaped white or pink blooms appear early spring before leaves emerge. Grows 20-30 feet tall.
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Star Magnolia: Star-shaped white flowers bloom early to mid spring. Compact growing to 15-20 feet.
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Southern Magnolia: Classic magnolia with huge white summer flowers and large leaves. Grows 40-60 feet tall.
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Sweetbay Magnolia: A smaller magnolia growing 15-25 feet tall. Fragrant white blooms in late spring.
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Loebner Magnolia: Blooms early spring with vibrant pinkish-red flowers contrasting green foliage. Grows 20-30 feet tall.
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Yellow Bird Magnolia: Cheerful yellow blossoms in spring. Grows 15-20 feet tall.
Consider the mature size, climate needs, and other characteristics to pick the right magnolia for your yard.
Planting and Caring For Magnolia Trees
Magnolia trees do best when planted properly in an ideal growing spot. Follow these tips for magnolia planting and care:
Pick The Right Location
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Choose a location with full sun to partial shade, depending on the variety. Most need at least 6 hours of direct sun daily.
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Provide shelter from strong winds which can damage branches and blossoms.
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Magnolias require well-draining soil, amended with compost if needed. Avoid soggy, wet sites.
Follow Proper Planting Techniques
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Dig a wide planting hole only as deep as the root ball or container. The top should sit slightly above ground level after planting.
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For container magnolias, loosen circling roots before placing in the hole.
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For bare root plants, mound soil in the bottom to support roots in their natural position.
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Backfill with native soil, water thoroughly, and add mulch around the base.
Ongoing Care
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Water 1-2 times per week for the first season, then as needed during drought.
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Apply 2-4 inches of mulch around the tree to conserve moisture. Pull back from the trunk.
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Prune only to remove dead or damaged branches. Avoid heavy pruning.
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Fertilize in early spring with a balanced or acid-loving plant food.
With its striking flowers and handsome foliage, it’s easy to see why the magnolia tree is so beloved. Do a little planning and preparation for where to buy magnolia trees, and you’ll soon be enjoying these gardening gems at their best. Check for local magnolia growers or order from reputable online sellers to find healthy additions for your own landscape. With the right care, magnolias can provide beauty and grace for generations to come.
Flower Color
Flowering trees are beautiful additions to every garden and among them magnolias occupy a special place, for their unique beauty. They have some of the largest flowers of all the flowering trees and present a stunning spectacle, with their picturesque branches wreathed in upright goblets of pink, purple or white. Even when not in flower, they are beautiful trees, some with smaller, light-green leaves, and others with large, glossy leaves that create a real presence in the garden.
Many are very hardy, and others grow well in the hottest places, so there are choices for everyone, no matter where you live. Their large flowers give an exotic, almost tropical and very dramatic note to gardens in cooler climates more familiar with flowering trees like cherries with their relatively small flowers. The enormous, scented white flowers on the less-hardy variety really do give a sub-tropical feel, yet some of this type can be grown even in cooler regions. There are two main kinds of magnolia trees – those that lose their leaves in winter, flower in early spring and grow in cooler areas, and those that are evergreen, flower all summer and grow best in places without severe winter cold.
Wherever you live, whatever the size of your garden, and whatever your taste in flowers, a magnolia tree has a lot to offer, and these long-lived trees will never let you down, becoming more and more beautiful with each passing year.
Popular Magnolia Trees for Your Garden
There are many different types of magnolias grown in gardens, and there are some suitable for all kinds of locations and climates. Here are some of the most important ones:
There are several species of magnolia that lose their leaves in winter. These mostly come from China and Japan, where they grow in woodlands and on hill-sides. Hundreds of varieties have been developed from them, and it is these, rather than the wild species, that are mostly grown in gardens.
This is the most widely grown deciduous magnolia, and it is a hybrid of the following two species:
Magnolia Denudata is called the Lily Tree or Yulan Magnolia. It grows wild in central and eastern China, and for almost 1500 years it has been cultivated in the grounds of Buddhist temples. It grows into a rounded tree no more than 30 feet tall, and it has white flowers in early spring.
Magnolia Liliiflora grows in south-western China, and it is called the Mulan magnolia, or purple magnolia. It is a small tree growing to just 12 or 15 feet tall, with flowers of a rich purple color.
These two trees had been brought to France in the 18th century, and in 1820, a retired officer from Napoleon’s army called Étienne Soulange-Bodin crossed these two species at his château outside Paris. The resulting tree is very widely grown in gardens, and as well, since seedlings grown from these trees produce variable flowers, many new varieties – up to a hundred – have been developed around the world.
Known as the Saucer Magnolia, this large shrub or small tree produces flowers in very early spring, on the bare branches, before the leaves emerge. Depending on the variety, the flowers may be white, pink, or purple, often with darker shades on the outside, and lighter shades inside. It is more tolerant of alkaline soils than many other magnolias, so it can grow easily in many gardens.
This, and it close relative Magnolia kobus, are called the Star Magnolia, because the petals of the flowers are narrow but long, and radiate from the center of the flower in a star pattern. It grows as a small to medium-sized shrub no more than 10 feet tall, with white flowers covering the bare branches in very early spring, from an early age. This is one of the hardiest magnolias, growing and flowering well even in zone 4. It grows well in most soils, and even grows in urban conditions, making it one of the easiest magnolias to grow almost anywhere. There is a variety called ‘rosea’, which has pink flowers.
This group of 8 different magnolias was developed at the National Arboretum, Washington in the 1950s. It was developed to deal with a specific problem growing deciduous magnolias in colder areas. Although the trees are hardy, and survive cold winters well, once the flower buds begin to develop they are sensitive to even light frost. Because they develop on the trees so early in the year, late frosts – which occur in many cold parts of the country – can destroy the blooming even before it begins, or when it has barely begun.
To overcome this problem, two scientists at the National Arboretum, William F. Kosar and Dr. Francis de Vos, made hybrids from the hardy star magnolia, and one of the parents of the Saucer Magnolia (Magnolia liliiflora), which we have already described. They used several varieties, with different flower colors and forms, of these two species in different crosses, to produce the biggest range of colors and flowers in their seedlings. They flower one or two weeks later than most other varieties, so they usually miss late frosts, and flower successfully in areas where others will usually be killed. Because of the star magnolia parent, the flowers are more open and spreading, showing off the paler colors within the flower.
| The Little Girl Series Hybrid Magnolias | |||
| Name | Flower color | Parent One | Parent Two |
| ‘Ann’ | Pinkish-red | Magnolia liliiflora ‘Nigra’ | Magnolia stellata ‘Rosea’ |
| ‘Betty’ | Reddish-purple | Magnolia liliiflora ‘Nigra’ | Magnolia stellata ‘Rosea’ |
| ‘Judy’ | Pink | Magnolia liliiflora ‘Nigra’ | Magnolia stellata ‘Rosea’ |
| ‘Randy’ | Purplish-pink | Magnolia liliiflora ‘Nigra’ | Magnolia stellata ‘Rosea’ |
| ‘Ricki’ | Reddish-purple | Magnolia liliiflora ‘Nigra’ | Magnolia stellata ‘Rosea’ |
| ‘Susan’ | Purplish-red | Magnolia liliiflora ‘Nigra’ | Magnolia stellata ‘Rosea’ |
| ‘Jane’ | Dark purple | Magnolia liliiflora ‘Reflorescens’ | Magnolia stellata ‘Waterlily’ |
| ‘Pinkie’ | Pink | Magnolia liliiflora ‘Reflorescens’ | Magnolia stellata ‘Rosea’ |
After testing these plants for several years, they released them in the 1960s, and they are easily recognized because they all have girl’s names. Among the most popular are ‘Jane’, with dark-purple flowers, ‘Betty’ with reddish-purple flowers, ‘Ann’, with pinkish-red flowers, and ‘Randy’, with flowers that are more purple-pink in color. All of them form small trees, ideal for smaller gardens, and they will grow well across a wide area from zone 4 to zone 8. They are undoubtedly the top picks for American gardens, top choices among the many different kinds of deciduous magnolias available.
Most evergreen magnolias grown in gardens are derived from the Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora). This tree is native to the southeast, from North Carolina down into Florida, and west into Texas and Oklahoma. Old wild trees can be 90 feet tall, although garden trees are usually much smaller.
Magnolia Grandiflora trees grow in areas close to water, but not in it – this tree does not like constant wet soil. The leaves are up to 8 inches long, glossy above and with a brown, felt-like underside.
The flowers are up to 12 inches across, and richly perfumed. They bloom throughout the summer. There are three main reasons why the wild tree, although attractive, is rarely grown in gardens. One is its size. Secondly, trees take many years to begin flowering, and must grow to a large size first. Thirdly, they are not very hardy, so they cannot be grown in many parts of the country. So many different varieties – called ‘cultivars’ – have been developed, that overcome some or all of these issues. Here are the most important and valuable of them:
Bracken’s Brown Beauty – Named after Ray Bracken, and developed by him in the 1960s in South Carolina, this is a smaller, very compact form, and it is also among the hardiest, growing well in Southern Ohio and on Long Island. The leaves are narrower than in the wild tree, with a very thick, dark-brown felt on the underside. The flowers are smaller, around 6 inches across, but they are profuse for many months.
D.D. Blanchard – this variety began at Robbins Nursery in North Carolina, and it is notable for its upright form, with a single central trunk. The result is that although it will grow tall, it can be planted in a narrower space than other varieties. The flowers are 8 inches across.
Edith Bogue – This variety, named after Edith A. Bogue, a gardener in Florida, is perhaps the hardiest variety. It was introduced into New Jersey in the 1920s, and has been widely grown in colder regions ever since. It can withstand temperatures as low as minus 5 degrees Fahrenheit. The Edith Bogue Southern Magnolia only grows to around 35 feet tall, and it forms an elegant pyramidal shape. This variety is a top-choice for colder areas.
Kay Parris – This is a smaller variety, growing to around 25 feet tall in time, but staying smaller for many years. It is completely hardy in zone 6, bringing the Southern Magnolia to many gardeners who thought it was impossible to grow one. It is a cross between ‘Little Gem’ and ‘Bracken’s Brown Beauty’.
Little Gem – this is perhaps the smallest variety available, and it blooms when just 3 or 4 feet tall. It is ideal for smaller gardens, and also for growing in large pots and tubs. It only grows 12 to 15 feet tall, and 4 feet wide, and the leaves are only 5 inches long. The flowers are up to 6 inches across. This variety was created by Warren Steed, from seeds he collected in the town of Candor, North Carolina. He grew them at his nursery and in 1966 released ‘Little Gem’ to gardeners. It remains an extremely popular variety.
Although this species of evergreen magnolia was the first one sent to Europe from America, it is not as widely grown as the southern magnolia. This is a pity, as it is a handsome tree, and is much hardier than its cousin, as it will grow throughout zone 5, and it is found naturally as far north as New Jersey.
The flowers of the Sweetbay Magnolia, as it is called, are creamy-white, up to 5 inches across, and they are very strongly perfumed with the smell of vanilla. A tree will perfume the air hundreds of yards away, making it a great tree to bring beautiful scent to your whole garden. In southern areas it is evergreen, but in colder regions it can lose some or all of its leaves in winter, while the stems and buds remain quite hardy. This tree is a great choice for more natural landscaping and for planting in woodlands on your property.
Where To Buy Magnolia Tree? – The Plant Enthusiast
FAQ
What month is best to plant a magnolia tree?
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Perfect Plants Nurseryhttps://myperfectplants.comMagnolia Grow Guide | Buy Magnolias Online | Perfect Plants
What is the most beautiful magnolia tree?
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Saucer Magnolia (Magnolia x soulangeana):This hybrid is known for its large, cup-shaped flowers that bloom in early spring, often before the leaves emerge. The flowers can be pink or white and are very eye-catching.
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Star Magnolia (Magnolia stellata):This small tree boasts delicate, star-shaped flowers that are often white with a slight pinkish tinge. It’s a popular choice for smaller gardens or spaces.
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Bigleaf Magnolia (M. macrophylla):As the name suggests, this tree has enormous leaves, and its flowers are proportionally large as well, making it a stunning specimen.
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Little Gem Magnolia:This evergreen magnolia is a compact, dwarf variety that produces a generous amount of fragrant, white flowers.
How fast does a magnolia tree grow?
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Weaver Family Farms Nurseryhttps://weaverfamilyfarmsnursery.comHow Fast Do Magnolias Grow? – Weaver Family Farms NurseryOn average, once a magnolia tree is established, you can expect it to grow about 1 to 2 feet per year. However, it’s important to note that magnolia trees might…
How tall is a 7 gallon magnolia tree?
- Typical height at purchase: 2-5 feet.
- Mature height: Can range from 10-25 feet, depending on the variety.
- Little Gem Magnolia: A dwarf Southern Magnolia that reaches a height of about 20-25 feet.
- Butterfly Magnolia: A more robust magnolia that can grow to 15-20 feet tall.
- Other varieties: Other magnolia cultivars can also reach varying heights, some even larger than 20 feet.
Where can I buy magnolia trees for sale online?
Rest assured, when you buy Magnolia trees for sale online from Wilson Bros Gardens we safely ship the highest quality container-grown specimens that are ready upon arrival to plant and thrive for years to come in your gardens – Guaranteed! Wilson Bros Gardens brings you awesome every day!
Why should you buy magnolia trees online?
All have fragrant flowers that add beauty and tremendous sensory appeal to the landscape. Rest assured, when you buy Magnolia trees for sale online from Wilson Bros Gardens we safely ship the highest quality container-grown specimens that are ready upon arrival to plant and thrive for years to come in your gardens – Guaranteed!
How big does a little gem Magnolia grow?
The Little Gem Magnolia is the perfect tree for your yard if you are seeking a smaller version of the evergreen magnolia without sacrificing any of the usual beauty. The Little Gem reaches only 20 ft. to 25 ft. with a spread of 8 ft. to 12 ft. and has a slow growth-rate, approximately 1-1/2 ft. per year.
What is a little gem magnolia tree?
AI-generated from the text of manufacturer documentation. To verify or get additional information, please contact The Home Depot customer service. The Little Gem Magnolia is the perfect tree for your yard if you are seeking a smaller version of the evergreen magnolia without sacrificing any of the usual beauty.
Are little gem magnolias Hardy?
It still produces the characteristic fragrant, creamy white flowers and, in fact, tends to bloom more than the Bracken Brown Beauty. This magnolia makes a great specimen tree. Little Gem is hardy to 5°. USDA ZONES: Zone 7, Zone 8, Zone 9, Zone 10. Prepare for Spring Flowering Trees & Shrubs.
Are magnolia trees evergreen?
Magnolia trees can be evergreen, deciduous, or semi-evergreen, depending on the species. They are known for their attractive glossy, dark green leaves. Some species also produce large, fragrant blossoms that are white, purple, pink, red, and yellow.