previous
  • Designing with Curved Terraces
    Designing with Curved Terraces
  • 6 Tips for Weed Control
    6 Tips for Weed Control
  • Make a Succulent Topiary
    Make a Succulent Topiary
  • Fast-Growing Trees for Impatient Gardeners
    Fast-Growing Trees for Impatient Gardeners
  • Mulch for a Healthy Garden
    Mulch for a Healthy Garden
  • NEW Video Series: There's a Better Way
    NEW Video Series: There's a Better Way
  • Slideshow: Beautiful Clematis
    Slideshow: Beautiful Clematis
  • Fragrant Plants for Pathways
    Fragrant Plants for Pathways
  • Thoughts From a Foreign Field
    Thoughts From a Foreign Field
  • Homegrown / Homemade
    Homegrown / Homemade
  • Garden Confidential: A Plant Walks into a Bar
    Garden Confidential: A Plant Walks into a Bar
  • Plants that Spark!
    Plants that Spark!
  • In Pursuit of the Perfect Potting Shed
    In Pursuit of the Perfect Potting Shed
  • Plant an Easy-to-Water Strawberry Jar
    Plant an Easy-to-Water Strawberry Jar
  • Pretty in Pink
    Pretty in Pink
  • Comfortable Alfresco Dining
    Comfortable Alfresco Dining
  • Lawn Alternatives
    Lawn Alternatives
  • Stylish Shady Containers
    Stylish Shady Containers
  • Colorful Selections for Shade
    Colorful Selections for Shade
  • Indeterminate or Determinate Tomatoes?
    Indeterminate or Determinate Tomatoes?
  • Building a Compost Bin
    Building a Compost Bin
  • Dwarf Citrus Trees
    Dwarf Citrus Trees
  • Elephant's Ears
    Elephant's Ears
  • Containers as Focal Points
    Containers as Focal Points
  • Save Money by Growing Your Own
    Save Money by Growing Your Own
next

Magnolia 'Butterflies' (Magnolia)

Magnolia 'Butterflies' Photo/Illustration: Jennifer Benner


Be the first to rate this plant

Plant Showcase - from our advertisers


Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Botanical Name: Magnolia 'Butterflies' mag-NO-lee-ah Common Name: Magnolia Genus: Magnolia
This cross of M. acuminata and M. denudata usually forms a small tree with an upright central leader or sometimes a multi-stemmed shrub. It has yellow cup to star-shaped flowers (3 to 4 inches across) that are fragrant and appear before the leaves in early to mid-spring.
Care: Grow in moist, well-drained, preferably acidic to neutral soil in sun or partial shade; they do not tolerate wet feet. Magnolia flowerbuds are susceptible to late-season frosts; shelter large-leaved species from windy locations. Prune trees and deciduous shrubs in late winter or late summer to prevent bleeding of sap; prune minimally to maintain a healthy framework. 
Propagation: Sow seeds in autumn or stratify to hasten germination. Root softwood cuttings in early summer. Magnolias can be layered in early spring, grafted in winter, and propagated by bud in summer.
Problems: Bacterial leaf spot, spot anthracnose, canker, dieback, butt rot, powdery mildew, anthracnose, fungal spots, weevils, snails, scale insects, thrips, planthoppers.
Height 15 ft. to 30 ft.
Spread 15 ft. to 30 ft.
Growth Habit Clumps
Growth Pace Moderate Grower
Light Full Sun to Part Shade
Moisture Medium Moisture
Maintenance Low
Characteristics Fragrant Flowers; Showy Flowers; Showy Seed Heads
Bloom Time Spring
Flower Color Yellow Flower
Uses Beds and Borders, Flowering Tree, Hedge, Naturalizing, Specimen Plant/ Focal Point, Waterside
Style Formal Garden, Woodland Garden
Seasonal Interest Spring Interest
Type Trees

Plants you might also like

Magnolia 'Ann' Magnolia 'Ann'
(Little Girl hybrid magnolia)
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This hardy cross between M. liliiflora and M. stellata is an open, deciduous shrub up to 20 feet tall and wide. It blooms in early spring and sporadically into fall, with goblet-shaped, deep pinkish-red flowers that are 7 to 9 inches long.

Magnolia 'Elizabeth' Magnolia 'Elizabeth'
(Magnolia)
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Few species can match the elegant drama of this specimen in full bloom. It has luminous, pale yellow, cup-shaped flowers to 6 inches across that seem to glow on the bare branches in late spring.

Magnolia stellata Magnolia stellata
(Star magnolia)
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This species is a small, spreading tree with lovely, upward-facing, star-shaped blossoms. Each pure white flower—they are occasionally flushed pink— is 5 inches across and comprised of up to 15 individual petals. They light up the tree's bare branches in early to mid-spring.

Magnolia × loebneri Magnolia × loebneri
(Loebner magnolia)
Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This small tree is a cross of M. kobus and M. stellata. It has star-shaped flowers (3 to 5 inches across) with 10 to 14 narrow white petals, sometimes tinted in lilac-purple or pale pink. The blossoms are fragrant and appear before the leaves in mid-spring. Loebner magnolia grows to 30 feet tall.

Magnolia × loebneri 'Leonard Messel' Magnolia × loebneri 'Leonard Messel'
(Loebner magnolia)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This rounded, small tree grows to 25 feet tall. It is a cross of M. kobus and M. stellata 'Rosea'. It has star-shaped flowers with 12 narrow petals, white on the inside and purplish-pink on the outside; the transition of color from bud to bloom is a beautiful study in color. The blossoms are fragrant and appear before the leaves in early to mid-spring.