Magnolia grandiflora 'LITTLE GEM'

Evergreen (southern) magnolias are flowering queens among ornamental trees. We choose the hardiest and most beautiful varieties that can live happily in zones 6 and up. How strange to combine ‘grandi’ and ‘little’ in one name. Well, in case of this gorgeousness we do not care a bit. This selection is a special variety with reduced size of everything: height, leaves and flowers. Some dare to call it dwarf yet I would not be so presumptuous as it can grow up to 4 meters in maturity. It was developed by Warren Steed in North Carolina, USA.

Little Gem is an evergreen magnolia which is smaller in every aspect but offers more of everything. The glossy, leathery leaves are numerous, making the plant very dense. They are deep green with distinct rusty underneath. When crushed they release a fine resin perfume.

The amount of creamy white, fragrant flowers is unique and can be compared perhaps only with a few varieties that also bloom all summer long as they keep popping up until the last warm and sunny days of autumn. They are 20-24 cm across, creamy white, composed of 9-12 petals. Their fragrance attracts not only bees and other insects, but also most perfume producers and all passers-by, especially in late afternoon and early evening when it releases its rich, sweet, and citrus fragrance several meters around. Each flower opens for one or two days only but is followed by another.

Samuel Sommer is an exceptional evergreen magnolia praised for both its beauty as well as durability. During the first decade of its existence it proved resistant to cold, strong wind, and freezing rain and snow. It belongs to the few of the species producing the largest flowers ever seen –so the whole plant produces flowers from June until September. The older and stronger the plant the more flowers appear in continuity. It usually blooms from mid June until late August, weather conditions pending.

Its evergreen leaves are leathery and extremely large: 20-25 cm long and 10-15 cm wide. They are broadly obovate, slightly undulated, dark green, glossy and conspicuously veined, while the undersides are covered with cinnamon brown, suede-like indumentum underneath which protects them against drying winds. Though evergreen, there is always some leaf drop, usually in late spring when the plant starts making new shoots and flower buds. Significant foliage loss occurs mainly within 1-4 years from planting so don’t be alarmed that the plant is ill, this is the way it grows.

It grows medium fast (30-50 cm per year) into a well-branched, narrowly pyramidal, large shrub. It can easily be trained into a mid-sized tree with a rounded canopy. For a denser habit and smaller size, it can be pruned when young and then every 3-5 years in late April. As it flowers at the tips of ripe wood its blooming may be shy the year you prune it.

Southern magnolia is very hungry. It needs acidic, fertile, reasonably drained but not purely sandy soil. Clay in lower parts is beneficial. We strongly suggest using mycorrhizal fungi for its roots, they work miracles especially for large plants whom they help establish without any signs of defect. Now bring your attention to fertilizing, most importantly during its first three or four years after transplanting it needs regular feeding to keep all its foliage and to produce flowers freely. Use any sort of fertilizer for ericaceous plants and apply it according to instructions from May until late July. Keep the plant’s roots constantly moist during this period and don’t forget to water it also in winter when the ground is not frozen. Then it will fully establish and will not suffer from summer droughts and will not need extra feeding as its roots will be deep enough to find their own food. Magnolias detest stomping on their roots as well as heavy load of gravel or stones – use only bark mulch in a sufficient volume to keep the roots from quick temperature swings in winter and from drying out during summer. Choose only sunny locations, possibly with winter shade that may be welcome in areas with long-lasting winters.

There is just one downside of Little Gem – it is less hardy than most of the hardy varieties we offer – it copes with -21 °C (USDA zone 6b) without leaf damage and is wood hardy to about -24 °C. Lower temperatures harm the wood. In colder regions we recommend covering the plant with white woven for the coldest days of winter, and in periods of strong sunlight and/or cutting winds in combination with temperatures below zero (especially in early spring). Always seek the most protected location in zone 6.

Last update 16-06-2007; 22-06-2015; 28-12-2020