PlantFiles: Southern Magnolia
Magnolia grandiflora 'Bracken's Brown Beauty'

I am in Wilmington, Delaware (Zone 7a), within the normal cultivated range of Magnolia grandiflora. Even so, I was looking for a hardier cultivar to plant in the cold exposed NW corner of my backyard. Brackens Brown Beauty has done great in my "cold corner" and has never shown any winter damage. It just gets bigger and more beautiful each year.

I did everything wrong for planting M. grandiflora in my region... small 2 gallon size, planted in the ground during late September, sited in a completely exposed location that receives direct winter morning sun. The trees were completely defoliated and had ~33% dieback that winter. They recovered and bloomed the next spring and now (in the ground 4 years) only experience slight leaf burn with minimal leaf loss and abundant flowering and seed set each year.

Definately hardy to at least zone 5b/6a, Lawrence, KS. This is one of only 3 broadleaf evergreen trees we can reliably grow. This is a real attention getter, especially in the winter. As a landscape company owner, we have installed about 50 lange specimens in our landscapes over the last 4 years. We have yet to replace even one. Two years ago, we experimented with a couple trees planted in open windswept prairie conditions. Even these have survived well with minor leaf burn. 15 gal trees establish best and are well worth the money considering their slow growth rate. Adequare water is needed during establishment which can take a couple years. Anti-transpirant spray is advised the first year, especially in the fall before winter. In contrast to most other plants, these are late to leaf out and can look tattered even into mid-spring.

This is definately a winner. Early winter when all the trees are bald its shiney leaves make it stand out. It has partial shade in winter and full sun in summer. I will be getting more as soon as lowes gets them in. My neighbor is from down south, she in her 50's. She loved it and made me buy her one too lol.

I planted Branken's Brown Beauty a year ago and though we didn't have a hard winter, there was little defoliation on the tree and I have twice as many buds this year/ I put down a balance of 12 12 12 and it is doing beautiful. I live in northern Ohio1

This plant is quite tough. I have seen it used in wide open spaces where it is subjected to cold temperatures and blazing winter sun without protection as far north as Cincinnati. Up here in central illinois I have been able to grow it on the north side of the house where it is kept out of strong sunlight for a good portion of the day during the winter. During the summer it still manages to get full sun. It grows very well and even handled temps around -8 in december of 05 without any burn. Many others I have run into across central illinois have run into few problems growing this tree and would highly recommend it for a protected spot in anyones yard.

*UPDATE 3-15-07* The winter of 2006-07 showed some good results. Following the Low temperatures of several weeks below 0 degrees all the way down to -8 the leaves were maybe half burned but all retained. There is no tissue damage that will prevent the plant from looking great this spring when it starts growing again.

Update 3-24-09: After a winter of temps hovering into the -10 to -20 range for a few weeks with full exposure to winter winds the leaves turned completely brown and fell off as the weather warmed up for spring. The buds and woody tissue were completely unharmed and growth resumed in spring filling the tree back in.

This tree grows well in Royse City Texas. I bought and planted it in early July of 05 and it has already bloomed!

A beautiful and easy to grow evergreen tree. The 6 to 8 inch pure white flowers fill the air with the fragrance of lemon. Does well in the central Florida landscape.

I live just outside the zone range (se Wisconsin-5b) of this plant. I have two in seperate unprotected areas which I planted last spring (2004). With a minimum low of -14F last winter both plants totally defoliated. However, both have survived and are budding. Ironically, the more exposed one has more buds and will sprout leaves first. I was blessed by two large blooms last summer and can't wait until I see them again!

Grows very well in Seattle!

I have had good luck growing Brackens Brown Beauty
in a protected east exposure in Illinois. I live 40 miles west of Chicago. It came through the winter and had 3 blooms on it last summer 2003. It has come through this winter 2004 in even better shape. Minimal leaf burn after -12 degree low.

In spite of a brutal winter in Connecticut in 2002 - 2003, this tree not only survived, but produced blooms the following late spring and it was only two years old when planted in 08/02.

Leaves are rust-colored on the undersides; flowers have a lemon scent