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We have this blank slate backyard that gets full sun. We're interested in getting 1-3 small (around 20-30' tall) Magnolia trees, but what do we put with them? We're looking for a plan of easy-to-maintain bushes that'll look good with the Magnolias. We could line the entire fence, or just have a few... We don't know. We don't really want flower beds, so I'm looking at bushes.
My wife likes yellow Forsythia, but we don't want our landscaping to be too random. We're in N Alabama with clay soil. Thanks!
We have this blank slate backyard that gets full sun. We're interested in getting 1-3 small (around 20-30' tall) Magnolia trees, but what do we put with them? We're looking for a plan of easy-to-maintain bushes that'll look good with the Magnolias. We could line the entire fence, or just have a few... We don't know. We don't really want flower beds, so I'm looking at bushes.
My wife likes yellow Forsythia, but we don't want our landscaping to be too random. We're in N Alabama with clay soil. Thanks!
Magnolias can get very large and can be very messy. The cones they drop will do a number on a lawnmower blade. They tend to have branches low to the ground, so you really can't plant anything within their drip line.
Why not something that flowers, like a traditional Dogwood, along with some azaleas? Forsythias are very easy to propagate, if you want to take the cheap, but slow route to having many plants.
Whatever you do, PLEASE do NOT try to convert your magnolias to broccoli stalks! Those low handing branches provide shade to their shalllow root systems. When people try to turn magnolias to elms by cutting off all the lower limbs, they give the tree a death sentence.
My parents had a magnolia tree in their yard and my dad called it the tree from hell. He hated it. His yard had to be full of grass. Not with a magnolia tree. And,back when you could burn leaves, magnolia leaves put out enough thick smoke to cover the town. They lived in an old brick house. My mother wanted to paint it and my dad didn't. They finally reached a compromise. Let me cut down that d**n tree and you can paint anything you want. Tree contractors got rid of it the next week.
My parents had a magnolia tree in their yard and my dad called it the tree from hell. He hated it. His yard had to be full of grass. Not with a magnolia tree. And,back when you could burn leaves, magnolia leaves put out enough thick smoke to cover the town. They lived in an old brick house. My mother wanted to paint it and my dad didn't. They finally reached a compromise. Let me cut down that d**n tree and you can paint anything you want. Tree contractors got rid of it the next week.
Ah yes, the old "cut down the mature tree to grow grass" phenomenon, common amongst the tree-hating elderly. Unless the grass you're trying to grow is an edible one, like CORN or WHEAT, don't do it!
I'll recommend the Magnolia × Soulangeana hybrid - commonly called the Saucer magnolias or Tulip magnolias - they would be suitable for that large space and the cones they drop are rather soft, fuzzy and pliable so I don't think they would damage mower blades. I never had problems with them being messy trees or with damaging mowers.
They're elegant looking and fast growing trees which at maturity are around 20 - 25 feet tall maximum with almost as wide spreading branches so make sure they have the space to spread outwards as much as upwards, and not too close to fences or buildings. A bonus with saucer magnolias is that they don't need pruning or shaping once they get past the gawky sapling stage, and in fact they should not be pruned after that. They are really easy trees to look after.
I'll second Rabbit33's advice to not cut the lowest limbs off magnolias because they act as protection for the fleshy, shallow roots of magnolias and they also help to keep the tree standing well balanced and upright instead of leaning.
The saucer/tulip magnolia cultivars can be gotten with flowers in white only, and in white and pink, and in white and violet and the blossoms are quite big and showy and have a subtle, pleasant scent. Depending on climate conditions some tulip magnolias will bloom twice a year - first with a robust and fulsome display in early spring and then later in early autumn with a more modest and demure display. The ones we have growing here on the west coast often will bloom twice a year, but not always - like I said weather depending.
I know you asked for suggestions of other shrubs or trees to accompany whatever magnolia trees you plant, but being unfamiliar with the types of plants that will do well in Alabama's climate the only thing I can think of that would look nice with magnolias would be pink dogwoods, and also perhaps hydrangea bushes that are positioned where they can benefit from the partial shade cast by the magnolias.
Definitely don't 'line the entire fence' with bushes and especially not trees. Keep the trees well back from the property line--at least ten feet. Placement should ensure that you don't encroach on the neighbor's yard/sunlight and so that there's room for light and air between the tree and fence (otherwise you just end up with a dark hole where nothing grows).
With that size yard, I'd say two or three trees could easily fit. Magnolias aren't that tall so perhaps a few nice tall and long-lived varieties. Does your municipality or county have a list of preferred trees (species that grow well in your area and would promote species diversity)? Black tupelo or tuliptrees would be a gorgeous and wonderful addition to a space that large, but not sure how your area views these. An evergreen might also be a nice add, to keep things interesting in winter.
Strongly recommend against Forsythia. They are beautiful, but they are not native and they grow out of control--you'd need to prune them at least twice per year. Spicebush are a good alternative--their color is in the fall not the spring, but they are hosts to the spicebush swallowtail butterfly. Witchhazel would be another good shrub. It can be pruned to grow like a small tree (with a single trunk).
Consider mixing up the perimeter with grasses also (little bluestem, etc). They will brown and remain upright in winter, to add interest. In the spring you can pull out the brown stuff or just leave it and let nature do it's thing and they will keep coming back year after year, no real effort on your part needed.
Last edited by MarianRavenwood; 03-25-2024 at 12:46 PM..
A Star Magnolia might be fine, but I’d stay away from the traditional magnolias. They shed their leaves continuously and the spent flowers hang like dirty diapers.
You can’t really go wrong with Crape Myrtles. They come in all sizes and colors, are trouble free and the blooms last for months.
A Star Magnolia might be fine, but I’d stay away from the traditional magnolias. They shed their leaves continuously and the spent flowers hang like dirty diapers.
You can’t really go wrong with Crape Myrtles. They come in all sizes and colors, are trouble free and the blooms last for months.
I agree about the star magnolia. https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/arti...olia-stellata/
I will also say that I think crepe myrtle and the usual azaleas are very much overdone in much of the south. Alternative might be one of the many viburnums, weigela, dwarf burning bush (has a dramatic appearance in the fall), flowering quince for late winter/very early spring appeal (caution, thorns!)
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