PLANT FINDER
Waterlily Magnolia
Magnolia stellata 'Waterlily'
Height: 20 feet
Spread: 15 feet
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 4a
Description:
An ideal accent tree for smaller home landscapes, features extremely fragrant star-shaped pink flowers fading to white in early spring, upright and multi-stemmed, fast growing; quite hardy, although flowers may be occasionally lost to late spring frosts
Ornamental Features
Waterlily Magnolia is bathed in stunning fragrant shell pink star-shaped flowers with white overtones and yellow eyes at the ends of the branches in early spring, which emerge from distinctive rose flower buds before the leaves. It has dark green deciduous foliage. The pointy leaves turn coppery-bronze in fall. The fruits are showy pink pods displayed in early fall.
Landscape Attributes
Waterlily Magnolia is a dense multi-stemmed deciduous tree with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.
This is a relatively low maintenance tree, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Waterlily Magnolia is recommended for the following landscape applications;
- Accent
- General Garden Use
Planting & Growing
Waterlily Magnolia will grow to be about 20 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 15 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 5 feet from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 80 years or more.
This tree does best in full sun to partial shade. It requires an evenly moist well-drained soil for optimal growth, but will die in standing water. It is not particular as to soil type, but has a definite preference for acidic soils. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution, therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.
