Ashei Magnolia - The Pros and Cons

I've grown Ashei magnolia in my yard for a few years now. There's some downsides to this plant, but first, let's talk about the good! The leaves on this one are GIGANTIC and it's native to the US. The blooms are absolutely stunning, and despite everything about this plant being big, they do quite well in small gardens because they won't reach tree-like proportions. It's native to a small part of Northern Florida but is very cold tolerant and would probably do well just about anywhere in the eastern US.

Now onto the bad! Firstly, it's a deciduous magnolia which means it's down to just branches all winter long. Not a big deal for most gardeners, but it's just hard to compete with Magnolia grandiflora, figo, and sometimes virginiana which look beautiful all year long and also have lovely blooms. There's a lot of competition in this family!

I find the foliage on Ashei can sometimes look a bit messy later in the summer. The blooms are also very short-lived like all magnolias, but I haven't gotten a lot of new branches from my Ashei, so there haven't been many blooms. I definitely recommend this plant if you find one, but don't feel too bad if you miss out on it.