Chicago Botanic Garden Spring 2019

22 chicagobotanic.org The collection: Magnolias Magnolia trees are the prom dresses of the garden. eir magnificent, showy flowers blanket the branches long be- fore the leaves unfurl. e size and abundance of the blossoms make mag- nolias one of the most stunning trees come spring. e white-flowered star magnolia (Magnolia stellata) and the pale pink saucer magnolia (Magnolia x soulange- ana) are popular trees, especially for home landscapes. But there are many others from which to choose, includ- ing those with yellow, purple, red, and bicolored flowers, and many that are fragrant. ere are 153 taxa of Magnolia at the Garden, and the best time to see them is from April to early May. You’ll find ‘Alexandrina’, a saucer magnolia, in the Helen and Richard omas Eng- lish Walled Garden, where its large fragrant flowers are a light reddish- purple on the outside and white on the inside. In the Farwell Landscape Garden, there are ‘Jane’, ‘Randy’, and star magnolias. Many others can be found in the Graham Bulb Garden, the Elizabeth Hubert Malott Japanese Garden, the Sensory Garden, and Lakeside East. Although it’s hard to narrow down fa- vorites, Phil Douglas, director of plant collections, likes ‘Henry Hicks’ mag- nolia. “It’s our best performing sweet- bay magnolia (M. virginiana) ,” he says. Magnolias are native to eastern and southeastern Asia and eastern North America, Central America, and South America. Fossils of magnolias date back more than 90 million years—sci- entists think they were pollinated by beetles because bees were not present at that time. While many magnolias can reach 35 to 40 feet in height, there are smaller ones like ‘Genie’, ‘Jane’, and ‘Betty’ that are 10 to 15 feet tall. en there’s the yellow-flowered mag- nolia ‘Judy Zuk’. e tree and flowers are upright, and the flowers smell like Froot Loops cereal—tropical and fruity. Inspired? Come see the Magnolia collection this spring. Learn more chicagobotanic.org/collections