Magnolia ‘Star Wars’

Incredibly beautiful, award-winning Magnolia ‘Star Wars’ is a small deciduous tree or large shrub adorned with a profusion of huge, fragrant, rosy-pink flowers in mid to late spring. Each blossom, up to 11 in. across (28 cm), counts 12 tepals that splay out gracefully as the flower matures. Deeper pink flushed at their base, the tepals are lighter on the inside. Flowering begins just before the leaves emerge in mid-spring and continues for one to two months. The foliage of large, ovate, glossy green leaves with a tapering tip is attractive. This hybrid Magnolia is a cross between Magnolia campbellii (Campbell’s Magnolia) and Magnolia liliiflora (lily-flowered magnolia ) and may produce a second flush of flowers in fall.

Magnolia belongs to the Magnoliaceae family, which includes several popular species such as the Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), Star Magnolia (Magnolia stellata), Saucer Magnolia (Magnolia × soulangeana), and Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana).

• Grows with a broadly pyramidal habit, up to 15 ft. tall (5 m) and 20 ft. wide (6 m)
• Winner of the prestigious Award of Garden Merit of the Royal Horticultural Society.
• Full sun to part shade lover, this plant is best grown in consistently moist, slightly acidic, organically rich, well-drained soils. Neutral to slightly alkaline soils are also suitable for growth. Magnolias are adaptable to clay, loam or sandy soils, but most grow poorly in wet or poorly drained soils. Provide a site sheltered from cold, dry winds as buds and flowers may be damaged by cold winds. Late frosts may damage flower buds too.
• May be attacked by capsid bug, snails, horse chestnut scale, coral spot, gray mold, and honey fungus.
• Spectacular as a specimen plant for dramatic spring blooms. Great flowering tree for city gardens or cottage gardens.
• Magnolia pruning should be carried out in midsummer when in full leaf
• Deciduous Magnolias are best planted when dormant, in late fall or winter in warmer climates and early spring in cold climates. Evergreen magnolias are best planted in early spring. For the first 6 to 12 months after planting, both types will benefit from mulch and regular irrigation during warm or dry weather.
• Propagate by softwood cuttings in early summer or semi-ripe cuttings in late summer