10/24/2026
“Umbrella Magnolia, Magnolia tripetala is an Eastern North American tree found in the mountains of New York State all the way down the east coast to Florida. It prefers moist, fertile soil and naturally grows as an understory tree. That being said, it will do well in sunnier spots up in New England, the northern extremity of its native range. It produces ten-inch wide, white flowers in early summer (that some people find to be unpleasantly smelly), but for me it’s all about the leaves.
Up to two feet long, and a foot across, they are easily the largest leaves of any tree we carry. They are medium green on the upper surface and have a cool bluish cast to the underside. A large shrub, or medium-sized tree, umbrella magnolia can grow to up to 30 feet tall and wide in its native range. However, the tree in our garden has been in the ground about six years and has died back considerably every year. It’s currently six feet tall and about four feet wide.
⭐️BONUS: the deer have never eaten it. Because it has performed so well, even having been knocked back in the winter, I’d encourage anyone to try it in the back of the shrub border. If it gets too big, I’d just cut it back to a few feet above the ground in spring and enjoy it as a large shrub.
We’ve stocked a few young specimens this fall. If you’re interested in giving one, or a few, of these trees a try please stop by – we’d be happy to show them to you!”
Read up on this gorgeous tree in Brad’s latest newsletter article - in our bio and on our website!
