Scientific Name
Magnolia x loebneri ‘Loebner Magnolia’
Loebner magnolia is another hybrid, in this case a cross between Magnolia kobus from Japan and Korea and the star magnolia, Magnolia stellata, from Japan. It typically grows 20 to 30 feet tall with a similar spread and is often seen in a multi-stemmed form. In some cases, the plant remains little larger than a shrub.
The leaves are 4 to 6 inches long, and the flower buds, formed in the fall before blooming, are fuzzy and more than an inch long. The fragrant white flowers average 12 tepals, or petal-like structures, and measure 4 to 6 inches across. They bloom before the leaves emerge. As with saucer magnolias, a late spring freeze in this climate can damage or destroy the flowers. Occasionally, this tree blooms either earlier or later than the saucer magnolias elsewhere on campus, allowing one species to escape frost damage while the other does not.
Like saucer magnolia, Loebner magnolia has excellent cold hardiness and was traditionally one of the go-to magnolias for adventurous gardeners in this region. Two popular cultivars derived from this hybrid are ‘Merrill’ and ‘Leonard Messel.’ Several examples of ‘Merrill’ grow elsewhere on campus as smaller, shrubbier plants, though this large specimen is not believed to be one of those cultivars.