Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Share

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
Not Yet Rated

Wednesday - July 11, 2012

From: Coram, NY
Region: Select Region
Topic: Seed and Plant Sources, Planting, Trees
Title: Search for Silver Magnolia from Coram NY
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

Hi, 20+ years ago I purchased a small tree labeled Silver Magnolia from a catalog. It was a sapling about 8 inches high when I first received it but amazing! The bloom the first year was as big as my hand, and as the lighting changed it went from white to pale blue to pale lavender. the flower appeared to be so delicate yet when touched was very sturdy.I had to move into an apartment and begged a friend to take it, it was 2 feet tall, but she declined. I have moved again into a home and have been trying to replace this little tree yet I can't find it, or the true name. I went back but the new owners must have removed it. Please help, I have a spot saved in my yard for 10 years hoping to find this tree. Thank You, Cheryl

ANSWER:

We are sorry, but we pretty well exhausted our resources and found lots of Silver Spring or Silver Bay magnolias, not a Silver Magnolia. If you bought that plant 20 years ago, it was almost undoubtedly a trade name given to it by the company selling it. The closest we came to finding it was a website with oriental lettering, which was not working.

What we would like to suggest, since you fell in love with a magnolia, is that you look for a native magnolia  tree that you like, instead of pursuing a plant in your memory that you may never find. That catalog and mail order nursery may have gone out of business all those years ago, taking the trade name with them. Follow each plant link below to our website on that plant. This will tell you its growing conditions, water and sunlight needs and bloom time and color. There are 9 magnolias native to North America and 4 native to New York State, all of them in the southern part of New York in Orange,Westchester and Suffolk Counties. Ordinarily,  the magnolia is considered a tree for the southeast states, but apparently the presence of the Atlantic Ocean around Long Island, where you live,  modifies the climate sufficiently to allow the magnolia to grow. The magnolias native to New York are:

Magnolia acuminata (Cucumbertree)

Magnolia fraseri (Mountain magnolia)

Magnolia tripetala (Umbrella tree)

Magnolia virginiana (Sweetbay)

Follow each plant link to our webpage on that plant to discover growiing conditions, light and water needs and bloom time.

In Texas, we recommend that trees be planted in cool weather, from November to January. Either late Fall or early Spring would probably be better where you are, but we recommend you contact the Cornell Cooperative Extension Office for Suffolk CO. for that information.

 

 

From the Image Gallery


Cucumbertree
Magnolia acuminata

Mountain magnolia
Magnolia fraseri

Umbrella tree
Magnolia tripetala

Sweetbay
Magnolia virginiana

More Trees Questions

Texas Ash secreting sap in Lockhart, TX
July 05, 2012 - I have what I believe is a Texas Ash in my front yard that is secreting a sap with what looks like some wounds on it with some white stuff and with black and red looking ants as well as it has a lot o...
view the full question and answer

Splitting bark on non-native mimosa from Buda TX
June 24, 2012 - What would cause my Mimosa tree to have splitting bark. I've only lived in this house for 8 months and am learning about this tree. The other tree seems fine. It looks as though it split and then ...
view the full question and answer

Shallow topsoil on rocky substrate in SW Oregon
April 28, 2009 - I want to plants some shrubs and trees. Trouble is I can't plant very deep. I have mostly rock within 5 inches. Please help.
view the full question and answer

Juniper as host of cedar-apple rust
July 17, 2007 - Thanks for the helpful advice on the Eastern Red Cedar. I was wondering if you could ease my mind about a potential problem. I have read up on some of the native plants in my area in a very good book ...
view the full question and answer

Identity of wild plum in Childress County, Texas
March 16, 2015 - I have a Wild Plum follow up question. My wife grew up around the Childress TX area. She remembers going around the creeks and gathering Wild Plums for her mother as a child. Would you have any ide...
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.