BBB was planted extensively on the campus of U of MO-Columbia. Seemed to tolerate the conditions there just fine , though many were in somewhat protected courtyard settings, etc. Can't recall now (10 years down the road) how much, if any, winter leaf burn was common on those trees.

Loses all it's leaves in the winter and doesn't put em back on until halfway through May. It's only been in the ground for a year but it does have 2 blooms on it this year already.

I made the mistake of trying to transplant an established Magnolia (Edith Bogue) last fall. It was about 6' tall but in an area too close to other trees. Well it's now almost July and most of the leaves are off. It shed them during the winter. Although much of the bark is still green, there are only little shoots trying to emerge from below the graft line. Should I give up on this tree and replace it .....preferably with a BBB variety?

I have a BBB here in coastal SE Mass. It has been growing vigorously for 4 years. The plant receives full winter sun, and as a consequence, does burn a bit each winter. But a little wilt-pruf in the fall does the trick and I have never lost a branch. Seems very hardy in zone 6. My biggest problem is heavy wet snow disfiguring the tree. I recommend regular pruning to keep it tight.

Doniki,
I have no idea if you did plant a BBB since this thread was resurrected from the dead of last year, but the city of Cincinnati has used BBB extensively as a street tree. They do seem to bloom more than Edith Bogue, but not by much from my observations. I still like EB better though.

cliff98-
Yea, actually I did plant 2 Bracken's last year... It was late August (probably too late). They were about 5ft tall, and very nice and full. We really didn't have that bad of a winter... It got down to about -5F one night, and a couple of nights around 0F. We did have consitant freezing though. They completely defoliated and had about 12inches of dieback... I expected the leaf burn, but not the dieback... I was really dissapointed... I have had an Edith Bogue for 5 or 6 years and it has never burned or had dieback. I fertilzed the two BBB's this spring and they have now "refoliated" and are starting to put on some growth. I had read that BBB will almost always defoliate the first year in the "north", and eventually harden off to the cold... I sure hope that is true- is it???. I first bought Edith in 1999 (I think) and the nursery (in Akron) has a larger one on display (maybe 20ft??) I was told that particular tree died completely to the ground the first winter, then resprouted and eventually hardened off. I keep track of it, and haven't noticed much damage over the years. The 20ft Edith Bogue planted at the nursery seems to be a good grower and does bloom well... I don't know how fast BBB grows, The Edith Bogue I have puts on about 12 inches a year. I'm beginning to see M. grandiflora's sold all over NE Ohio... Edith Bogue, Bracken's, DD Blanchard, Little Gem... I don't know how well these will do in NE Ohio...

BBB's grow much slower in comparison to EB's here in Cincy. I am sure that like most trees and shrubs more commonly seen in the south, most Mags do harden off when their roots become more established. Crepes are like that here. They will suffer significant dieback for the first 2-4 years but after that, they rarely suffer dieback, even after fairly severe winters.
My EB planted in 2000 was 3.5-4ft. tall, now it is almost 10ft tall, but has probably increased in overall density by 10x!

{{gwi:1072615}}

My observation locally is the EB is more hardy than BBB. The EB write-ups also claim that it is the most hardy southern magnolia. EB also has a more stiff branching structure, so it holds up better to heavy wet snow. My BBB gets very "floppy" if I don't prune it. My first attempt at southern magnolia here in zone 6 was a Little Gem. But I do not recommend it for zone 6. Mine died completely during its first year. I noticed that when the temperature crept below +10 degrees, the leaves would stop dropping off.

Here is my report on my Southern Magnolias in Hamburg, NY.
I am zone 6 and 1.5 mile from Lake Erie, so I have the moderating effect of the lake...

Magnolia update:
1)Unnamed clone from Appalachian Gardens - This has burnt leaves, but regrows them completely in May. You cannot tell that the tree had burnt leaves...

Pocano - Looking good/unburnt leaves at this point...

Edith Bogue - looks green and unburnt...

Brackens Brown Beauty - Looks very good/unburnt at this point...

I cannot wait until the growing season begins to see them grow as all except the unnamed clone from Appalachian Gardens are "enduring" their first winter...

I have a large BBB that receives full winter sun all day. It has no burn at all this year. We have had an easy winter, with no severe cold or wind, and lots of rain, with bare soft ground--at least at my location on the far southern coast of Mass--which is borderline zone 7. The same holds true for my other more tender broadleaved evergreens such as Aucuba and cherrly laurels.

My BBB is in an area with full sun, but I had some old pressboard that I put around the tree so I will get sun from above, but no reflected snow from the ground. It appears to have no damage from our winter. the leaves appear the same as they looked last summer.
All of my trees are cutting grown - no taking chances on bottom graft being less hardy than top graft - this I believed happened with a BBB from bad, bad Carroll Gardens. I did not know the BBB was even grafted - they do not even advertise BBB any more - I wonder why?!!
My other trees, Edith Bogue, Pocano look good and of course my two Mg '24 Below' remain to still be planted out in early spring past the "deep freeze" time - probably Arbor Day in April.

Except for the unnamed clone from Appalachian Gardens, BBB, EB and Pocano are going through their first winter. The unnamed clone has gone through at least 4 winters, altough it burns badly, it regrows leaves so good that you never know it lost leaves from winter burning.

Whenever I go to Saint Louis, I see many mature versions of this tree, very old, but about 20-40 feet high in some cases, like a tall column, that barely tapers until the very top. Where I live, lots of younger version since it is a newer area. Not all bloom a lot, but these trees are beautiful, and the few flowers I have seen are amazing! I am not sure how old this question is, but if you haven't planted it, get it now! They sell out very, very quickly in my area. And all the landscapers are using them with the new neighborhoods and corporations moving into the area.

Hello all! Posting this question here since I live in Cleveland and the lake softens the temps up here somewhat.
I planted a 9ft. BBB last year and it was glorious. It is at the corner of our garage, which shelters it from the east, and the shadow of the house shelters it from the south. I lost about four branches to the wind storm. It seems to be doing alright, but did suffer from wind burn (?) pretty bad. Is there anything anyone knows of that I could do to help this tree in the late fall to protect it? I wondered if a loose burlap wrap would help? Or spraying the leaves with a wilt proof? I know it is a youngster-just want to do everything I can to help it grow and make it look healthier.

Hi

Which one of these flowers more and which has better fragrance?

Any comparison to swamp magnolia or 'nothern bell'?

Does Brackens lose ALL leaves each year when it re-foliates, or are some of the leaves left on the tree from year to year several years old? I am in Kansas City

When you buy a new Bracken's Brown Beauty it will have leave loss the first year or two because I dries out in the winter. After the third year when it has a huge roots system again it will never loose leaves again. From Zone 5 south its hardy also for the first 2 years keep a water drip tree ring on all year long except in the winter of course.

UPDATE , made it through winter absolutely no protection had a few freeze dried leaves, I have a tree soaking ring at the base , on every day since march and I fed with 4 lbs of fertilizer and it has put over 12 inches of new leaves and stems so far. I called brakens out of state they said it should get 36" new growth every year

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The top pics of how fat the trunk got instead of the tiny stick it was when I first bought it.

Its actually a few feet taller and tripled its width, 100% success in Plainfield Illinois. Also two more pics . Had already over 25 flowers open and close last month alone. Prettygurl jones is my sister lol. She posted for me last year year one. This is year 2 update. my neighbors keep trying to steal my tree lol heis from Mississippi and there state tree is the magnolia.

This thread is very old but I'm hoping someone can help me out! I'm considering a BBB for our backyard. It would be planted a reasonable distance from a pool and I'm worried about the clean up necessary. I don't want to have debris, cones and flowers blowing into the pool. Can anyone share info about how bad the clean up is for this tree both regularly throughout the summer and also how much debris there is for Fall/Spring seasonal clean up?

I hope someone responds even at this late date because I just saw them at Lowes and am thinking of grabbing one…

What is your gardening zone?! How cold do you get and for how long? I don't have Braken's Brown but they are known for cold hardiness.

Below is a Victoria in my NJ yard, I have a forest of evergreen Magnolias, different cultivars. Buy it if you like, but they need SPACE. Surprised that they are being sold in your area so early in the year, here they may pop up in April through June.

P.S., Regarding cleanup, their older leaves fall off in May and June, while they are growing vigorously. There is little leaf debris in the Fall but cones are all over the lawn in November-January, and here, they have recently started to self-sow..., so, I get more trees to either prune out or give to friends.