Magnolia Recommendation

[ahosey01]

Can someone recommend to me an interesting or unusual species / cultivar of magnolia?

I like M. grandiflora because its evergreen and doesn't drop leaves.  Soil where I'm going to plant it is going to be fairly consistently moist, but not boggy.  It's a dispersant clay which is permeated with some sand.  Open to other species that aren't annually deciduous.  Must be able to withstand full, blazing sun and to do okay without a real winter.  Cucumber magnolia is probably a little too big.

Thanks!

[Philipp]

I guess the Magnolia who were formerly classified as Michelia (you can still google Michelia to find out the species) have some species and hybrids that are perfect for you. Evergreen, fragrant and there are some relatively small shrubs!

[rooikop]

I dont know if it will grow where you are but  michelia champaca is a glorious tree.google it.

 

[Than]

Magnolia virginiana is beautiful and evergreen. If evergreen is not necessary for you then definitely Magnolia macrophylla!

[guillerman]

Magnolia delavayi & M. tamaulipana, could add a nice touch to your garden and I believe they will do well in your area. They are hard to get but you can already see delavayi in cultivation in some areas in the US

[Peter]

My sister is in panhandle of  northern Florida and is growing M ashei, the local magnolia, which has wonderful huge leaves.  Might be hard to source out of the area, but might be worth taking a look at 

[Chester B]

Magnolia coppertallica

[Xenon]

Michelia x alba >>>> everything else 

The leaves are big glossy and beautiful, the fragrance is world class, full sun and it's plenty hardy (9bish but root hardy even in Houston...anyhow it's more hardy than half of the big tropical trees down there anyways, no problem for you). 

None of the temperate magnolia should even be discussed 🤣

[Jonathan]

I second M delavayi, here's a pic of one of mine, flowering early last summer. Flowers are six to eight inches across, large leaves, just a cracking plant all round. Not super fast, so you'd want to get a bigger one if possible.