Magnolia 'Jane'
Magnolia 'Jane' · Magnoliaceae Popular
Slender, tulip-shaped flowers, red-purple outside and white within, open in mid-spring, late enough to miss most frosts.
- Size
- 13 ft tall, 10 ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late April to mid May
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around magnolia 'Jane'
The planner designed this bed around magnolia 'Jane' when this page was made: a 30 × 14 ft (9.1 × 4.3 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why magnolia 'Jane' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Magnolia 'Jane' × 1, purple
- 2 Leadwort × 38, blue
- 3 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 65, yellow
- 4 Blue holly × 1, blue-green leaves
- 5 Garden phlox 'Jeana' × 3, pink
- 6 White mugwort × 4, cream
- 7 Switchgrass 'Prairie Sky' × 4, tan
- 8 Joe Pye weed 'Little Joe' × 4, pink
- 9 Little bluestem × 3, blue-green leaves
- 10 Slender mountain mint × 3, white
- 11 Lowbush blueberry × 11, white
- 12 Winter heath × 21, pink
- 13 Coneflower 'Green Jewel' × 13, green
- 14 Asiatic lily × 7, yellow
- 15 Star of Persia × 7, purple
- 16 Tulip × 7, red
Why this plant
- A classic partner for tulip. Both are on this plan. A pairing gardeners have proved outranks a general rule.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 13 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to white mugwort (5 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for four weeks. From late April to mid May.
- In company. With mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana', lowbush blueberry and tulip in early May: 4 kinds at once.
Planned as an English border: 29 of the 33 groups (88%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The flowering is at its height from early August, with 7 kinds out together. Magnolia 'Jane' and blue holly anchor the back corners of the bed: the tallest plants on the plan stand there.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 5 Good, 1 Satisfactory.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where magnolia 'Jane' goes in a border
At 13 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is super tall (over 6½ ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
One of the eight 'Little Girl' hybrids from the US National Arboretum, bred to flower two weeks after the star magnolia. A shrubby, upright plant for a small garden.
- A magnolia that escapes late frost
- A tall anchor for a small garden
- Spring flowers
What to plant with magnolia 'Jane'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Daffodil: purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for three weeks; fine leaves against its bold ones; low enough (16 in) to stand in front of it.
- Tulip: purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for four weeks; medium leaves against its bold ones; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Hosta 'Royal Standard': carries the spot on into early September; low enough (2 ft) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about magnolia 'Jane'
Does magnolia 'Jane' need sun or shade?
Magnolia 'Jane' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does magnolia 'Jane' grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does magnolia 'Jane' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late April to mid May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 4 | Early May to late May |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late April to mid May |
| Zone 6 | Mid April to early May |
| Zone 7 | Mid April to early May |
| Zone 8 | Early April to late April |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should magnolia 'Jane' be planted?
8 ft (250 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 10 ft (300 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 13 ft (400 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many magnolia 'Jane' plants do I need?
Usually one. At 8 ft (250 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 8 ft apart: two plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is magnolia 'Jane' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like magnolia 'Jane'?
Magnolia 'Jane' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Large fothergilla: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 5 ft shorter, 2½ ft narrower.
- Saskatoon serviceberry: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 3½ ft shorter, 20 in narrower.
- Elderberry 'Black Beauty': the same job in a bed; 5 ft shorter, 2½ ft narrower.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after magnolia 'Jane'?
Magnolia 'Jane' is over by mid May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Mock orange: from late May to late June, 10 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Mountain laurel: from late May to late June, 8 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Ninebark 'Diabolo': from late May to late June, 8 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does magnolia 'Jane' look like in winter?
Magnolia 'Jane' drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
More Magnolia
- Star magnolia 'Royal Star' Magnolia stellata 'Royal Star'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 13 ft (400 cm) tall, 10 ft (300 cm) wide
- Plant
- 8 ft (250 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late April to mid May; open bowls; purple, pink, white
- Leaves
- Bold texture, deciduous; dark green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Magnoliaceae
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.