Beloved for its dinner-plate size blossoms with the fragrance of lemons, the Southern Magnolia is considered to be the “Grand Dame” of Southern landscaping. This Southern native does well from Zones 6B to 9 with cultivars like Edith Bogue and Bracken’s Brown Beauty reportedly doing well into 5B thus pushing this perennial favorite into the Northeast and extreme Southern New England.
Home and Garden Landscapes recommends using this tree in your landscape if you have the room. Luckily, newer cultivars like Brackens Brown Beauty and Claudia Wannamaker do not have the wide spread of the original trees you see taking up massive amounts of space in the Deep South. Some cultivars like Lil Gem bloom from May till November and some cultivars like D.B. Blanchard have a beautiful coloration and texture to the underside of the leaves that some people liken to suede.
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D.B. Blanchard Southern Magnolia
D.B. Blanchard Southern Magnolia is one of the most beautiful cultivars of Southern Magnolia in cultivation. It’s attributes include shiny green foliage with brown undersides which resemble dark brown velour and large dinner plate size blooms which smell like lemons.
D.B. Blanchard is more finicky in being transplanted which can often result in excessive leaf drop. Interestingly enough, moving it in the heat of the Summer lessens this situation. We do not recommend moving this plant in the fall and/or winter.
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