Magnolia: Are They Evergreen?

Have you ever heard of the magnolia? This is a genus of flowering trees belonging to the family Magnoliaceae. They have been used for hundreds of years in making medicines. Magnolia is a flowering plant that grows in many countries around the world. Not only are its flowers beautiful, but also its leaves and wood are used for being medicinal and cooking. Its flowers are fragrant. It attracts pollinators such as insects, birds, and bees. Are they evergreen? Are there also deciduous? How long do they live? What causes their branches to droop? Here, we will discuss these and other details about these beautiful trees.

Are Magnolias Green All-Year-Round?

Yes, but not all magnolia varieties are evergreen. Others are deciduous. Some may experience a brief period of dormancy (a period when the tree does not grow or produce new growth) in the winter.

Evergreen Magnolia Varieties

There are two types of magnolia trees: evergreen and deciduous. The tree type has been categorized based on its essential oil content when the flowers open at certain seasons and completely shut off during other times.

Southern Magnolia

It can be 60 to 80 feet tall and spread out over 30 to 50 feet when it’s grown. Its leathery leaves make it a big part of the landscape because they make a lot of shade. Many different trees have been made to keep the tree’s looks but make it smaller and easier to keep up with.

Little Gem Magnolia

It was the first of the so-called ‘dwarf’ magnolias to bloom, but it will still grow to a height of 10 meters despite its diminutive size. It can be pruned back to a more manageable height, making it ideal for use as a tall hedge, but it also works well as a feature tree.

Kay Parris Magnolia

‘Kay Parris’ is a fictional character created by author Kay Parris. Magnolias are now available in Australia, and they have beautiful foliage, a long flowering season, and they tolerate cold weather a little better. The leaves are highly glossy and have a deep orange underside that contrasts with the rest of the plant. ‘Kay Parris’ Magnolia is a smaller-growing variety of the ‘Little Gem’ Magnolia, growing to only 6-9m in height. It makes a nice specimen tree because it has a good structure and holds its shape well. It could also be used as a screen for privacy. A tree that grows at a faster rate than ‘Little Gem.’

Teddy Bear Magnolia

It is now possible to purchase Magnolia’ Teddy Bear’ in Australia. ‘Kay Paris’ is a smaller growing variety with fantastic foliage, but it differs from the others in rounded, dark green leaves and cup-shaped, and they are held quite densely together. Despite the fact that it will still grow to 6m, it can be easily kept more compact by pruning in the winter, just like ‘Little Gem’ and ‘Kay Paris.’ Flowers are large and white, reaching almost 20cm in height.

Sweet Bay Magnolia

When the weather is warm and sunny, sweet bay magnolias can grow 50 feet (15 m.) tall or more. When the weather is cold, it usually only grows 30 feet tall or less (9 m.). It has a sweet smell and a nice shape that make it a good specimen tree. There are lovely flowers with a smell like lemons, but the leaves and twigs have a spicy smell. The tree helps wildlife by giving them shelter and places to lay their eggs. It is a place for the sweetbay silkmoth to grow up. There were beaver traps in the early days, so they called it “beaver tree.”

Exmouth Magnolia

It reaches up to 12 m high and 6 m wide. Greater than Magnolia’ Little Gem’ in size, but not as profusely blooming. The ‘Exmouth’ Magnolia has a straight trunk and a pyramidal to rounded crown. 25 cm wide creamy-white flowers with a strong scent bloom at the tips of thick, thorny stems in mid-spring, summer, and fall. For 2-3 days, the bowl-shaped blossoms open in the morning and close at night. 10 years to flower. Then come cone-shaped seedpods with large rose-red seeds. It is common for seeds to hang from open pods. The glossy dark green oblong-elliptic leaves are 25 cm long and have a brown-felted underside. John Colliton of Devon invented it in the early 1800s.

White Champaca

A medium-sized evergreen tree that grows quickly in the area where it lives. Given the right conditions, this animal can reach a height of 30m. The bark on the trunk is very smooth and silvery grey in color. The waxy, long, and narrow tepals surround the green pistil in this plant. About 5cm across, the flowers are white or cream in color. The scent is particularly potent in the evening. Even after being picked, the flowers’ scent is still present. The leaves are elliptical and simple.

Port Wine Magnolia

It’s a large evergreen compact tree that grows very well in acidic and alkaline soil. Black soot is a threat. A lot of people grow it as an ornamental plant in their gardens because of the smelly flowers. They are white, purple rounded, or light-purple and are strongly scented with isoamyl alcohol. The 10 cm long leathery leaves are glossy dark green. This plant is used as a tall evergreen hedge in Shanghai.

White Caviar Magnolia

Magnolia grandiflora is a medium-sized evergreen with glossy green, rounded foliage. This creates a pleasing backdrop for the fragrant, creamy yellow, 20 cent coin-size tulip-like flowers that bloom in the spring and summer months. Shrub with a compact, rounded shape. A good choice for hedging up to 2 meters. It’s also good for planting along driveways because it responds well to cutting. Plants that have a strong smell are good for areas where people like to have fun outside. When you grow plants in containers, you can cut them down to make them look nice and round.

Sweet Michelia

The tree has a lot of white flowers with a strong smell during the fall and winter. It has long oval dark green foliage with a furry feeling on the back. It has beautiful fragrant creamy white flowers that open from the ground up in the spring, and the scent is very strong. You can use this tree for hedging and screening or even as a centerpiece because of how it grows. It starts out small, but it will spread out as it gets older. It grows quickly, needs full sun to part shade, needs well-drained humus, and needs slightly acidic soil to grow well in. Grown-up trees are 9m tall and 6m wide at the base.

Magnolia Bubbles

Magnum doltsopa and Michelia figo were crossed to make this beautiful tree that is always green. “Bubbles” has pointed, glossy green leaves that look good. It will eventually become a small tree that looks like a pyramid shape. It has white flowers with pale pink edges that open in late Winter or early Spring. They aren’t very smelly, but they do smell. These prefer moist, fertile, well-drained, slightly acidic soil, so preparing the site helps. Thrive in full sun, but tolerate partial shade. We recommend a spring fertilizer application, mulching, and watering during the dry months, especially when the plant is established.

Scented Pearl Magnolia

Native to the forests and thickets of southwest China, this large, evergreen shrub to a small tree grows at elevations between 3600 and 7500 feet. In cultivation, mature specimens can grow to a height of 10-30 feet and a width of the same. There have been reports of wild specimens models as tall as 40 feet. The dark green, leathery leaves can grow up to 4 inches long and 1.5 inches wide. Axillary buds on the stems produce fragrant, 2″ wide flowers in spring. Short, reddish-brown hairs cover the young twigs, leaf petioles, flower buds, and the young leaves.