Magnolia Betty

Magnolia 'Betty' is a beautiful hybrid variety that combines a spectacular spring flowering with moderate growth. These qualities make this small, round-shaped and well-branched tree an excellent candidate for small gardens and container cultivation. It offers an extraordinary spectacle when its numerous flowers appear, beautifully colored in two shades of pink, opening up into magnificent star-shaped blooms that can reach 20 cm (8in) in diameter, visible from afar on its still leafless branches. Like many magnolias, it thrives in moist, neutral to acidic soils, in full sun or partial shade.

This Magnolia, belonging to the magnolia family, is a horticultural creation resulting from cross-breeding between the Magnolia liliiflora 'Nigra', with lily-shaped flowers, and the Magnolia stellata var. 'Rosea', highly floriferous, compact in size and more adaptable to different soil conditions. This slow-growing small tree, with a well-branched rounded crown, reaches a height and spread of approximately 3.50 meters (11 feet) after about fifteen years. If grown in a container, it will maintain more modest dimensions. Its flowering takes place in April-May, depending on the region. Its flowers open abundantly on its bare branches. They are large, solitary and lightly fragrant, upright flowers, with a shape reminiscent of tulips. These flowers open widely, forming star-shaped blooms measuring 18 to 20 cm (7 to 8 in) in diameter. They consist of oval and pointed petals, with a thick and waxy texture. They emerge from buds protected by silky bracts. The center of each flower is occupied by numerous yellow stamens and a large greenish pistil. The deciduous foliage is made up of obovate leaves, 15 cm (6in) long and 5-6 cm (2in) wide, of a medium green color, slightly hairy, with a paler and finely hairy underside, turning to yellowish-brown in autumn before falling.

This Magnolia Betty offers an unforgettable spectacle in the middle of spring. As an excellent ornamental tree, it finds its place in many gardens, including smaller ones. It is most often used as a solitary specimen in the middle of a short grass meadow, where its flowering is particularly striking. It can also be integrated into a mixed border of flowering shrubs (large Rhododendrons, Camellias, Hydrangeas, Witch Hazels, Pieris, Anemone Trees, Fothergilla...), for a Japanese-style garden. It is also possible to create large flowering hedges when space allows, alternating this Magnolia with other cultivars (Magnolia Heaven Scent, Magnolia denudata, stellata, brooklyniensis, Merrill...). Finally, gardeners without a garden can cultivate it for many years in a large container, on a terrace or balcony.

Its name, Magnolia, was given to it in 1703 by Charles Plumier, botanist to King Louis XIV, thus paying homage to the physician-botanist Pierre Magnol (1638-1715), who was one of the directors of the Botanical Garden of Montpellier at the end of the 17th century. Its specific name, soulangeana, originates from Etienne Soulange-Bodin (1774-1846), a retired cavalry officer from Napoleon's army who dedicated himself to horticulture. In his château de Fromont, near Paris, he developed a passion for Magnolias and obtained this hybrid in 1829, which is now the origin of a magnificent line of cultivars!