Yellow magnolias are less common than their pink magnolia cousins and come in shades from pale apricot to rich butter. Grown for their flower colour, yellow magnolias' variable habit allows them to be grown in gardens of all sizes.
Generally hardy throughout the UK, yellow magnolias are seen flowering in April, although some cultivars flower as early as March and some as late as May. The later yellow magnolias flower with their foliage.
Here we share some of the best yellow magnolias to grow for gardens of all sizes and tips for buying and growing them, plus some of the history behind the development of this unusual yellow variety.
History of yellow magnolias
Walking along many suburban streets in March and April you will be wowed by the power of magnolias seen in shades of pink and purple as well as white. Almost certainly, these will be Magnolia x soulangeana the hybrid created at the beginning of the 19th century by the Frenchman Étienne Soulange-Bodin. He crossed the yulan, Magnolia denudata, with the mu-lan, Magnolia liliiflora.
Fast forward to the 1950s. A team of women including Evamaria Sperber, Doris Stone and Lola Koerting were carrying out hybridisation programmes at Brooklyn Botanic Garden using seed of the American Magnolia acuminata with pollen from the two Asiatic species used by Soulange-Bodin.
They wanted to use their native species because it has yellow flowers (also green and blue), is exceptionally hardy, tolerant of many soil types and has a variable habit from a large shrub to a tree.
Growing conditions for magnolias
Magnolias of all persuasions like a moisture-retentive soil regardless of whether it’s acid or slightly alkaline. Most can be grown in full sun or part shade and are surprisingly tolerant of exposure.
Those early flowering Magnolia x soulangeana so often seen on suburban streets are generally best suited to suburbia, which tends to be a degree or two warmer than the surrounding countryside, but the yellow magnolia trees, which flower a few weeks later, are able to adapt to a wider range of climates making them even more impressive.
When to plant yellow magnolia trees
- The ideal time to plant your yellow magnolia is in autumn while soil temperatures are high, but you can plant at most times of the year except during drought periods of high summer.
- Always water well during the first year to establish the magnolia tree.
- If you’re planting a larger specimen or planting in an exposed location, use a low stake to secure the tree.
- Check the tree tie periodically and loosen if necessary and remove the stake after two to three years.
The best yellow magnolias
Magnolia 'Butterflies'
One of the earliest yellow magnolias to flower. Flowers open in March before the foliage and are deep canary yellow. Once fully open, they are up to 13cm across and have prominent red stamens. 5m.
Buy Magnolia Butterflies tree from Planting Tree
Magnolia 'Judy Zuk'
A small, fastigiate yellow magnolia tree raised by Brooklyn Botanic Garden. This yellow magnolia's tulip-shaped, apricot-yellow flowers appear with the unfurling foliage at the end of April and last for several weeks. These are flushed pink on the outside of the tepals and have a fruity fragrance. 5m.
Find Magnolia 'Judy Zuk' through the RHS
Magnolia ‘Yellow Fever’
A small tree with an upright habit. Its large, pale-yellow flowers are flushed pink and appear before the foliage during April. The yellow magnolia flowers have a sweet fragrance and over time fade to an ivory-cream colour. A hybrid with Magnolia denudata. 5m. USDA 4a-8b.
Buy Magnolia 'Yellow Fever' from Burncoose Nurseries
Magnolia x brooklynensis ‘Yellow Bird’
A fast-growing, pyramidal, small yellow magnolia with cup-shaped, yellow flowers. These open progressively from late April, for about a month, at the same time as the foliage, and on opening have a slight greenish tinge to the base of the tepals. 7m. USDA 4a-8b.
Buy Magnolia x Brooklynensis 'Yellow Bird' from Thompson & Morgan
Magnolia ‘Golden Pond’
Raised in 1997 by David Leach in Ohio, this is a small, upright magnolia tree that is slow to establish but is eventually fast growing. It produces tulip-shaped, yellow flowers over several weeks both before and with the foliage during April. Needs a sunny site for best colour. 5m.
Buy Magnolia 'Golden Pond' from Millais Nurseries
Magnolia x brooklynensis ‘Hattie Carthan’
A large, multi-stemmed shrub with goblet-shaped flowers that have streaks of pink on the outside. These open with the foliage over several weeks from late April. This yellow magnolia was raised by Doris Stone at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. 5m. USDA 4a-8b.
Buy Magnolia x Brooklynensis 'Hattie Carthan' from Burncoose Nurseries
Magnolia ‘Yellow Lantern’
Phil Savage bred this small, fastigiate tree with large, tulip-shaped, lemon-yellow flowers. The yellow magnolia flowers are flushed with pink at the base and appear before foliage in mid April then last for several weeks. Shows great promise as a street tree. 7m. RHS H6, USDA 4a-8b.
Magnolia ‘Lois’
An upright-growing, small yellow magnolia tree with primrose-yellow flowers that open in mid April before the foliage. Flowers continue as the leaves unfurl over a five-week period and don’t fade. It needs space around it to be fully appreciated. 7m RHS H6, USDA 4a-8b.
Magnolia ‘Elizabeth’
A single or multi-stemmed small magnolia tree initially upright but ultimately round headed. Its primrose-yellow flowers, which when fully open are 20cm across, appear from early April before the leaves and flowers and last for about four weeks. 7m. AGM. RHS H6, USDA 5a-8b.
Magnolia ‘Gold Star’
A single or multi-stemmed small magnolia tree, upright to pyramidal in habit with pale-yellow flowers that fade to cream-coloured, star-like flowers with 14 tepals. Flowers open in late March before the burnt-red leaves that eventually fade to green. 5m. RHS H6, USDA 5a-8b.
Find Magnolia 'Gold Star' through the RHS
Tips for buying and growing magnolias
- Most of the magnolias you’re likely to buy from a nursery or garden centre will have been grown as shrubs in five-to ten-litre pots, although you can find some trees and larger specimens in containers up to 20 litres in size.
- The most important thing when choosing a magnolia tree is to look for a vigorous specimen that is showing evidence of new growth.
- A pot-bound tree will take at least a year longer to establish.
- Magnolias are best grown in a moisture-retentive, but not waterlogged, soil that can be either acidic or mildly alkaline.
- If you’re planting your yellow magnolia into a heavy clay soil, then add some quarried grit and organic matter to open up the soil structure.