Magnolia 'BUTTERFLIES'

Magnolia
Magnolia  'BUTTERFLIES'
cucumber magnolia
SIZE/TYPE taller shrub
USUAL HEIGHT 3-4m
USUAL WIDTH
LEAVES deciduous broadleaf
COLOUR OF LEAVES green
FLOWERS showy
COLOUR OF FLOWERS yellow
BLOOMING TIME April - May
LOCATION full to partial sun
USDA zone (lowest) 5   (down to -29°C)
WINTER PROTECTION  
FOR ZONE 5+6 Code of winter protection zone 5+6
FOR ZONE 7 Code of winter protection zone 7
BELONGS TO CATEGORIES Deciduous broadleaf
Magnolias
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Another unique jewel among magnolias is this yellow flowering hybrid. It is a cross between m.denudata and m.acuminata (cucumber magnolia). It was raised by Phil Savage in Michigan, USA, in 1988 and patented three years later.

Medium-sized flowers are unusual and truly gorgeous. The colour is clear yellow with a very light greenish tint on the outer petals towards the bottom of the calyx. We have had it for a few years now and never experienced colour fading to light yellow or even cream which is something the English, for instance, complain about. The shape is something between goblet and tulip, with shorter and 9-12 narrower petals which open wide only as the flower matures, revealing beautifully contrasting red stamens. The whole shrub, when in full bloom, looks like covered in butterflies, hence its cultivar name. This hybrid is really precocious and flowers at a very young age, often 1 or 2 years after grafting. Flowering season begins with other late magnolias i.e. end April to mid May.


Leaves are obovate, fresh to mid green, quite large and nicely matt. As on every magnolia, there is a large number of them which makes the shrub look very dense and healthy during the year.

It grows slowly to medium fast and it is advised not to enhance growth rate by effective fertilizers. Reason is when it grows at its natural tempo, given balanced nutrients in common garden soil and in full sun, it makes short, fully mature branches with flower buds at the tip of each branch. Overall size is between 3 and 4m with an equal or only a little smaller spread.

Magnolias are not supposed to be pruned. You can prune old shrubs if ill, or trim them to shape or to reduce size, or make an elementary cut to young plants of unsightly or unhealthy appearance. Do this as soon as possible after flowering to secure setting of flower buds for the following year. Be aware that each magnolia can respond differently to pruning.

Deciduous magnolias are quite easy plants. All they need is light, well-drained, acidic soil with equal moisture throughout the year. Once established they can do with occasional drought but will not look as nice as the ones with regular watering. Just pay attention to how to plant your magnolia. First, find it a spot where it will live forever and ever. It does not like transplanting. And as it makes shallow roots reaching well over its spread stay away from disturbing the roots by digging or messing about around it. Just cover the soil with bark mulch and do not plant anything else near it after say the second year after planting onwards. You could damage the very important top roots that absorb maximum moisture and nutrients from the soil. Also avoid planting magnolia too deep. Thus you could be digging its grave. It is extremely hardy withstanding temperatures even lower than -30°C (USDA zone 4), just make sure it is not in a too exposed windy area.


Last update 15-12-2007
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GLOSSARY
  • STANDARD QUALITY - Plants of this group are 1st class quality with number of branches and overall density adequate to their size and age, considering they were container grown.
  • DE LUXE QUALITY - This label guarantees a luxurious quality of manually selected plants that, compared to their height and age, are exceptionally dense and beautiful.
  • EXTRA - These plants are usually mature and bigger specimens with exceptional overall appearance.
  • STANDARD (as described in the plant form) means a tree with a trunk of 190-210 cm and a crown at the top, unless specified differently. The commercial size for trees is their girth measured in the height of 1m from ground.
  • HOBBY - These plants are of the same quality as our standard-quality plants but younger and therefore cheaper.
  • SHRUB - a woody plant with branches growing bushy from the ground level.
  • HALF-STANDARD or MINI-STANDARD - a small tree with shorter trunk, its size is usually specified.
  • FEATHERED - These are trees with branches growing already from the base of the trunk and up along the stem.
  • GRASSES and PERENNIALS - Sizes given usually read the diameter of the pot or the clump, as specified.
LARGE PLANTS over 150 cmspecimens, screening and hedging shrubs

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