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I am just curious, so I just wanted other people’s opinions on this topic, so my questions are the following:
1. What temperature threshold is the Southern Magnolia(the parent species, not any given cultivar) reliably winter hardy to?
2. What is the lowest temperature any cultivar(including the cold hardiest varieties of Southern Magnolia)ever been able to survive?
All feedback and opinions are highly valued and held in high regard.
They are commonplace here in the Washington DC lattitude. They can and do survive temps in the single digits.
There was one in the news recently. A mature Southern that was planted by Andrew Jackson behind the White House.
hardiness can and will vary even within the "straight" species by provenance (plants from the northern edge of the native range may have somewhat more cold tolerance that those from the southern edge near the ocean) and genetics (some plants may be more cold tolerant in the same way that they can differ in size of flower, size of leaf, size of tree, etc) that said, as a ROUGH rule of thumb most southern Magnolias (as mature trees) can probably endure only fairly brief exposure to temps much lower than -5f and will endure them better in a cold winter wind protected spot with good drainage. that said, according to Sean Hogan in his book "Trees for all Seasons" certain trees have survived and grown in central Michagan and Ohio likely because of extra "good genes" and/or a favorable microclimate. for the average gardener with an average plant a PROTECTED spot in USDA 6 is probably as good as it gets and even them there may be damage of some sort in colder than normal winters and maybe even very severe damage or death in the sustained cold of a "vortex winter". selected forms of the evergreen "sweetbay" magnolia virginiana ssp. australis (like "Henry Hicks") MAY be a bit hardier---but again in a protected micro-climate. hope this is of some interest and help.
Mine is exposed to wind and cold in zone 7 here in VA and is quite large. Even single digits haven't bothered it, but ice has damaged it in the past. During the bad snow/ice combo we had in 2009, I could hear the branches cracking from the ice accumulation and it lost a lot of interior branching. It has finally started to look pretty good since then. I LOVE my magnolia!
^^^^^^^^^^^: So in otherwords even the famed Brackens Brown Beauty and the Edith Bogue Southern Magnolia cultivars are only winter hardy down to about 0 F, and not the claim that those two particular cultivars can survive low temperatures of < -10 F or -15 F, One site even claimed that Brackens Brown Beauty could survive a temperature of down to -20 F..
I can't answer about the maximum cold hardiness of Magnolia trees, but please don't try to make them look like oaks by cutting off all the lower branches (like broccoli)! Magnolias are intended to hug the ground.
If you just desperately need to grow grass under your trees, please don't plant Magnolias. Please do not trim-up your Magnolias in order to grow grass under them. Also, please do not dig up all the near-surface roots in an attempt to make a putting green under your Magnolias.
I can't answer about the maximum cold hardiness of Magnolia trees, but please don't try to make them look like oaks by cutting off all the lower branches (like broccoli)! Magnolias are intended to hug the ground.
If you just desperately need to grow grass under your trees, please don't plant Magnolias. Please do not trim-up your Magnolias in order to grow grass under them. Also, please do not dig up all the near-surface roots in an attempt to make a putting green under your Magnolias.
Yeah, well. sometimes you have to do just that. I got a complaint about my magnolia because it was causing a line of sight problem for people turning from the street in front of the house into the main road. However, instead of letting VDOT butcher the tree, I hired a certified arborist to trim up the bottom branches and open up the top canopy for light and air as well. They did a great job and avoided the "bunch of broccoli" look as much as possible, and they shaped the tree so it wasn't so lopsided either. On the whole, I'm honestly pleased with the overall effect. and I won't get fined now. It wasn't what I would have wished for, but I have to admit that the area beneath the tree actually looks good.
I have seen them in microclimates in NYC metro area (against south facing walls). I think that is zone 6 and the microclimate bumps it up to zone 7.
The NYC metro is zone 7b, a south facing microclimate would easily be zone 8a in NYC proper. But I’ve seen them all over Long Island (zone 7a/7b) in both exposed and protected microclimates.
Like they say, the right plant in the right place... Prevents the problems.
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, One site even claimed that Brackens Brown Beauty could survive a temperature of down to -20 F.
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