Magnolia soulangeana, or saucer magnolia, is I think one of the most beautiful of spring trees. This deciduous tree is a slow-grower up to 25 ft. high with a 25-ft. spread (7.6 m). It is recommended for Sunset zones 1-10 and 12-24 -- the blooms are subject to frost damage, and the tree tends to do poorly in hot, dry, or windy areas. It requires moist, well-drained neutral or slightly acid soil, with deep and thorough watering. Flowers are white to pink or purplish-red, and appear in early spring before the leaves expand.
M. soulangeana is named for French plantsman Étienne Soulange-Bodin (1774–1846), a retired cavalry officer of Napoleon's army, who first bred the tree in 1820 as a cross between M. denudata and M. liliiflora, two ornamental magnolias native to China. The saucer magnolia has since proved very popular as an ornamental shrub or small tree in England, Europe, Japan, and the United States.
The blooms pictured above are from M.s. "Alexandrina" (also found as "Alexander"), which has large, elegant blooms of deep purplish-pink with pinkish-white insides.
In my garden, the leaves in late summer have a tendency to get sunburned, and they usually fall much earlier than most trees in the area; on the plus side, the bare grey branches are quite striking.
Sunset notes that the saucer magnolia is "also erroneously called tulip tree" (Liriodendron tulipifera, also in the Magnoliaceae family). The name is also spelled M. soulangiana.
A young saucer magnolia, possibly also "Alexandrina", in a charming cottage-garden setting in north Fullerton.
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