April 28--This year's show of magnolia blooms was tarnished. The flowers on many early-blooming magnolia trees turned brown and crisp like potato chips as a result of sharply cold nights in early April. Petals fell sadly to the ground.
"Most homeowners purchase these trees for early spring bloom," says Matt Lobdell, head of collection and curator at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle and an expert in new magnolia cultivars. "In this climate, that has its hazards."
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At the arboretum, later-blooming magnolias take over even if the early-blooming species suffer from frost. Its collection includes nearly 40 species and varieties, some of which bloom as late as June. On a suburban street or in a city neighborhood, though, the magnolias are likely to be one of two types: star magnolia or saucer magnolia.
The star magnolia (Magnolia stellata), which comes from Japan and Korea, blooms as early as March, Lobdell says. The saucer magnolia (Magnolia x soulangeana), a hybrid of two Asian species, usually blooms a couple of weeks later. That puts them both in the crosshairs of a spring frost, such as the night of April 9, when it was 22 degrees in Naperville.
Frost becomes less likely as the spring goes on, though frosts have been recorded in Chicago as late as Memorial Day.
Because these kinds of magnolia are not native to the changeable Midwestern climate, they haven't evolved to wait out the risk of spring frosts before they bloom, Lobdell says. Magnolias that are native to the U.S., such as bigleaf magnolia (Magnolia macrophylla) and cucumber tree (Magnolia acuminata), bloom as late as May and June. "They know not to bloom too early," Lobdell says.
These native species aren't easy to use in a home garden, though. "Cucumber tree can grow to be a huge tree, so tall that you can't even see the blooms," Lobdell says.
Here are some saucer-type hybrid magnolia varieties Lobdell recommends for Chicago-area gardeners. They bloom relatively late, toward the end of April, so they won't satisfy that yen for spring's first bloom, but they will be more likely to stay beautiful longer.
Elizabeth magnolia (Magnolia 'Elizabeth') has cream to yellow flowers and can reach 50 feet.
Lenne saucer magnolia (Magnolia נsoulangeana 'Lennei') has pink flowers and can grow to 20 feet tall.
Rose Marie magnolia (Magnolia 'Rose Marie') has purple-pink flowers and can grow to 20 feet.
Beth Botts is a staff writer at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle (www.mortonarb.org).
For tree and plant advice, contact the Arboretum's Plant Clinic (630-719-2424).
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