© The Dabney Nursery
Plant: Alta - Magnolia
Magnolia · Magnolia grandiflora 'Alta'
Size: 15 gal
Light
Bloom
Mature size
More about this plant
A narrow, densely foliaged selection of the native Southern magnolia with extremely thick upright branching, reaching about 20 to 25 feet tall and only 9 to 10 feet wide. The leathery leaves are glossy dark green above with a light rusty underside, and fragrant creamy white saucer shaped flowers to 10 inches open in late spring with scattered summer bloom. Cone like fruits ripen in fall and release rose red seeds on slender threads that birds and small mammals take. It tolerates salt, wind, wet soil and urban conditions in sun or part shade. Expect steady leaf and fruit litter, and note that little will grow beneath a mature tree.
- Full Sun
- Grows to 25 ft tall and 10 ft wide
- Blooms in spring, summer
- Hardy in USDA zones 6a-10b
- Evergreen foliage
- Native plant
Plant description
A narrow, densely foliaged selection of the native Southern magnolia with extremely thick upright branching, reaching about 20 to 25 feet tall and only 9 to 10 feet wide. The leathery leaves are glossy dark green above with a light rusty underside, and fragrant creamy white saucer shaped flowers to 10 inches open in late spring with scattered summer bloom. Cone like fruits ripen in fall and release rose red seeds on slender threads that birds and small mammals take. It tolerates salt, wind, wet soil and urban conditions in sun or part shade. Expect steady leaf and fruit litter, and note that little will grow beneath a mature tree.
- Flowers
- Fragrant creamy white saucer shaped flowers to about 10 inches across, made up of six to twelve petals, opening in late spring with sparse summer repeat.
- Foliage
- Alternate, simple, persistent leathery evergreen leaves 5 to 10 inches long, glossy dark green above with a light rusty brown felt like fuzz beneath.
- Fruit
- Spherical cone like fruiting clusters mature in September and October and release rose red coated seeds suspended on slender red threads.
- Bark & stems
- The bark is brown to gray and smooth when young. As the tree ages, close plates or scales develop.
- Pruning
- Lower branches tend to reach the ground and can be pruned out to appear more tree-like.
- Native range
- Southeastern United States, Maryland southwest to Texas and southeast to Florida
