Magnolia flowers (Magnolia spp.) Come in a number of shapes, sizes and colors depending on variety. The magnolia family includes evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs bearing blossoms in colors of pink, pink, red, yellow and purple. The leaf sizes and shapes vary as well. Good maintenance can help make sure the trees blossom generously.
Big Blooms
Several varieties of magnolias have large blooms that vary from 8 to 12 inches round. Southern magnolia (M. grandiflora) bears large, white, fragrant, cup-shaped flowers that are approximately 8 to 10 inches round. This handsome tree is hardy to U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zone 6 and blooms throughout summer and autumn. Fraser magnolia (M. fraseri) is a medium-sized tree having white, fragrant blooms up to 10 inches round and hardy to USDA zone 5. M. sargentiana robusta bears fragrant mauve blooms around 12 inches across and blossoms mid- to late-spring before leaves open and can be hardy to USDA zone 7.
Medium Blooms
Some varieties of magnolias bear medium-sized blooms that vary from 4 to 7 inches round. Kobus magnolia (M. kobus), hardy to USDA zone 5, flowers in early spring before leaves bears and open slightly fragrant, white, 4-inch-wide blooms. Saucer magnolia (M. x soulangeana) is a hybrid that bears pink to purplish flowers up to 6 inches round. It flowers from late winter though spring and is hardy to USDA zone 4. Yulan Magnolia (M. denudata) is a deciduous tree hardy to USDA zone 5 and also bears tulip-shaped blooms around 7 inches across in summertime.
Modest Blooms
Magnolia varieties also have little blossoms that only spread around 3 inches round. Shinyleaf magnolia (M. nititda) is an evergreen shrub hardy to USDA zone 8 that bears fragrant flowers up to 3 inches round and blossoms in spring. The cucumber tree (M. acuminata) makes an excellent shade or lawn tree and bears greenish-yellow blooms up to 3 inches across in late spring through summer; that magnolia is hardy to USDA zone 6.
What Magnolias Need
Magnolias need proper care to thrive and blossom. The plants have fleshy, shallow root systems that take a location where the roots will not be damaged. Magnolias thrive in well-drained soil that’s slightly acidic with deep irrigation, but waterlogged soil can kill the trees and shrubs. Deciduous magnolias need annual pruning after booming, while evergreen varieties are pruned before new growth appears in spring. Prune magnolia trees to shape, cut back broken limbs and also remove lower branches as the tree grows.