Magnolia query

Jenny Grant

Hi there. This is my first post. We've recently moved from an oceanfront apartment where, on our balcony, we were flat out growing flowers, let alone trees. We now have a beautiful garden on 1 acre of land in the Southern Highlands of NSW so we're now on a HUGE learning curve!

I'm hoping that I might be able to find out the name of this magnolia (a photo of which I hope I've attached), and if the partly curled leaves should really look as they do! The coffee-coloured flowers have a very light typical magnolia and the velvet buds are coloured a very rich brown.

I'm looking forward to finding out lots more about our garden through this excellent site.

Bye for now, Jenny

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Darrell Mcleod

Looks similar to Magnolia grandiflora

Someone should know and provide more info

Jenny Grant

Thanks for your reply, Cruisin _long. I agree with you that it looks similar to the M. grandiflora, in that the leaves look the same as mine, however the buds are quite different. Mine have chocolate brown velvet buds & the flowers are definitely coffee-coloured, not white or cream. The scent is definitely the same. I'll keep hunting! Jenny

James Taylor

Could be a Magnolia fordiana, it's a bit hard to see from one picture maybe take a few of the flowers and leaves separately.

Jenny Grant

Hi JT. I've attached another photo of the flower and also one of the leaves. This is an evergreen tree and the old leaves are very curled & dry, and they also seem to have some sort of bug in them. Some of this could be attributed to the dry weather which preceded this year's rain, I guess. On average, the leaves are about 7" long & 2" wide. The flowers turn a darker shade as they die but when they open initially, the colour is definitely more coffee than cream. As the flower wanes, the ?stamen? goes from cream to brown to dark brown with a small bright green centre.

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Brent Ferris

Could you show us the underside of the leaf, whether the underside is pubescent (hairy) or smooth, the top laid flat, and describe the fragrance of the flowers - lemony, disagreeable, sweet etc

As the flower wanes, the ?stamen? goes from cream to brown to dark brown with a small bright green centre. -- more likely to be the pistil.

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Jenny Grant

I've attached photos of two leaves, one young & one older. The younger one feels slightly furry and has a copperish tinge to it while the older one is smooth, and light green in colour. The flower has a very light and quite sweet perfume.

Thanks for the 'heads-up" - I've learned a new word: pistil. As you've no doubt deduced, I'm no gardener, but am keen to become one.

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Darrell Mcleod

Could it be Magnolia Delavayi?