One of the nice surprises this winter has been the performance of our hybrid Magnolia grandiflora x Magnolia coco. This 2019 seedling came through the recent 11 degrees F looking great, despite half its parentage being rather tender.
While Magnolia grandiflora is certainly winter hardy here, the other parent, Magnolia coco is “reportedly” not hardy. Magnolia coco is a small tree/shrub hailing from Vietnam, Southern China, and Taiwan. Those reputable on-line sources consistently write that it isn’t hardy north of Zone 9. Well–hmmm!
The bottom image is our plant that has been in the garden since 2003…that’s 20 years. Yes, after 11F, the foliage is brown, but the stems are fine and it will re-flush well in spring. We can’t wait to see the flowers on the hybrid, which is still a few years away from being old enough to have sex.
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Bless your heart Joan, how nice of you to point that out!
This hybrid is twenty years old( in ground since 2003 ) and still hasen’t flowered yet ) ?
Will grafting a piece on rooted Star magnolia( named clone ) root stock induce early blooming to get idea of what to expect from a bloom( scent,size,shape,frequency,and texture).?
Or even a named evergreen magnolia clone rootstock if Star magnolia not compatible?
Grafting is not our specialty, so I’ll have to defer to some of our readers who may have an answer.