Two things will happen: the leaves will burn in the sun in the summer.

And the whole plant will freeze back in the winter.

The ones you see got big because they were in the right spot - sheltered from sun and frost.

I guess I won't be going with that tree :(

How do you think a Magnolia tree would do on the same spot? like the pink variety

Magnolias aren't suitable for our climate either. They get salt burn from the alkaline soil, and leaf browning from the dry air. I am aware of a few magnolias, but they are in enclosed courtyards or other sheltered spots.

Go to Sunset Magazine's Plant finder and use their search:

http://plantfinder.sunset.com/sunset/plant-home.jsp

Pick full sun, ample water (it's a lawn), and see what comes up.

I've seen quite a few around town. Most notably the one down Glendale ave and 4th st.

here's a google street view picture of the huge tree

Google streetview of Magnolia tree in Glendale ave.

The tree is the white kind and it is old and huge. It's in a spot out in the open as well, not protected by any means.

I think they can handle our weather here but Im not sure about the pink variety :\ but I would really love to try and grow one

That's a Magnolia grandiflora, native to the American southeast all the way into Oklahoma. It's struggling in the alkaline soil and the heat: I've seen them in Virginia and they are much deeper green with larger leaves.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnolia_grandiflora

The pink-flowered ones (species and varieties) are native to areas with climates that are too different from ours: some are tropical and can's survive our winter freezes, others are from the cooler damp foothills in SE Asia and will survive the winters but can't stand our hot dry seasons.

They need a deep, acid soil and a high humidity ... we don't have that.

Bauhinia can usually survive as a lawn tree, and it has pink cultivars.