Star Magnolia
Magnolia stellata (MAGNOLIACEAE)
Planting and Growing Star Magnolia Trees
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow star magnolia trees in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, cones, and seeds of star magnolia
- Growing conditions for star magnolia
- When to plant star magnolia
- How to plant star magnolia
- How to prune star magnolia
- Watering, fertilizing, and care of star magnolia
- Landscape uses of star magnolia
- Pest and disease control for star magnolia
Growing Star Magnolia Trees
Many cultivars of slow-growing, long-lived, erect, spreading, open, deciduous, shrubby trees, 20–25 ft. (6–7.5 m) tall and to 30 ft. (9 m) wide, with smooth, deep green, leathery, broad, oval leaves, 4–5 in. (10–13 cm) long, with tan undersides, turning yellow bronze, rose in autumn, and with smooth, gray bark.
False Magnolia, Michelia doltsopa and hybrids, are relatives in the same genus as true Magnolia species.
Star Magnolia Planting and Care Guide
Flowering and Cones
Showy, fragrant, pink, purple, red becoming white, star-shaped flowers, to 3 in. (75 mm) wide, with 12–15 narrow, lance-shaped petals, in early spring before leaves emerge, form scaly seed cones in autumn.
Best Climates
U.S.D.A. Plant Hardiness Zones 5–9. Hardy. Best in mild-summer climates.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist, well-drained humus. Fertility: Rich. 5.5–6.5 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Filtered sun to partial shade. Space 6–15 ft. (1.8–4.5 m) apart.
Proper Care
Moderate. Keep evenly moist. Fertilize quarterly with acidic liquid fertilizer diluted to one-half its package-recommended rate. Prune, remove suckers to direct growth, maintain treelike form. Stake. Avoid plantings beneath canopy. Propagate by cuttings; plants grown from seed may revert.
About This Species
Good choice for specimens, borders, containers, edgings, entries in formal, meadow, woodland gardens. Good for cutting; winter branch form. Shallow rooted. Disease resistant. Scale, spider mite and chlorosis susceptible.
Common species and varieties of Magnolia
Evergreen Magnolias:
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- Magnolia delavayi, Delavay magnolia
- Magnolia grandiflora, southern magnolia
- Magnolia X thompsoniana, Thompson magnolia
- Magnolia virginiana, sweet bay
Deciduous Cup-Flowered Magnolias:
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- Magnolia campbellii, Campbell magnolia
- Magnolia dawsoniana, Dawson magnolia
- Magnolia fraseri, Fraser magnolia
- Magnolia hetapeta, yulan
- Magnolia sargentiana, Sargent magnolia
- Magnolia X soulangeana, saucer magnolia
- Magnolia sprengeri, Sprenger magnolia
- Magnolia X veitchii, Veitch magnolia
Deciduous Star-Flowered Magnolias:
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- Magnolia kobus, Kobus magnolia
- Magnolia X loebneri, Loebner magnolia
- Magnolia nitida, shiny-leaved magnolia
- Magnolia salicifolia, anise magnolia
- Magnolia stellata, star magnolia
Miscellaneous Magnolia Species:
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- Magnolia acuminata, cucumber tree
- Magnolia hypoleuca, white-leaved magnolia
- Magnolia macrophylla, big-leaved magnolia
- Magnolia rostrata, beaked magnolia
- Magnolia sieboldii, Oyama magnolia
- Magnolia tripetala, umbrella magnolia
- Magnolia wilsonii, Wilson magnolia
About Magnolia Trees
The ancient Magnolia genus includes about 85 species of medium to large, round-crowned, broad-leaved, deciduous and evergreen trees. Native to North and Central America and East Asia, they are semi-hardy. Most will tolerate temperatures as low as 5°F (–15°C). Most magnolias thrive in areas with mild winters and warm, humid summers.
Magnolias are very showy trees with large, cream, pink, or white, cup- or star-shaped flowers that appear before the leaves on deciduous species and in late spring and early summer on evergreen species. They are good choices for urban sites and are often used as street trees.
They are slow- to medium-growing trees, with species that range in size from 20–100 ft. (6–30 m) tall. Four divisions segregate the magnolias into evergreen, deciduous cup-flowered, deciduous star-flowered, and the other, miscellaneous species.
Magnolias are susceptible to scale insects and fungal diseases that cause leaf spot; both are preventable and easily treated.
Choose from among the popularly cultivated species above.
Planting and Caring for Magnolias
Magnolia species include both the large, upright, round-crowned landscape trees and many delicate, shrublike accents ideal for a small-space garden or container.
Choose from evergreen or deciduous magnolias; evergreens bear their flowers in late spring, while most deciduous magnolias bloom in early spring, some before leaves emerge.
Plant magnolias in a moist, well-drained, acidic humus. Since all landscape trees perform best when planted in unamended soil, test your site for acid-alkaline balance before planting. Magnolias require soils in the 6.0–6.5 pH range. Choose species with your climate in mind, especially when you plant magnolias in usda Plant Hardiness Zones 7 or 8.
Carefully match the depth of your planting hole to the mark of the soil line on your tree’s rootball. Magnolias do best when you position the root crown at the same depth as it was grown in the tree nursery.
Backfill the planting hole with native soil, surround it with a moat, and water the tree during its first season, whenever the soil surface dries.
Magnolias are the right choice for open or turfgrass landscapes. Keep the spread of large species in mind, spacing your plantings 20–30 ft. (6–9 m) apart—or more if they’re near a structure.
Magnolias look best with space to allow you to appreciate their beautiful form.