Magnolia hypoleuca

The Magnolia hypoleuca is a superb ornamental tree, whose immense silver-lined leaves are first admired before witnessing the blooming of its flowers, after 10 to 15 years of cultivation. But the sight of its large waxy cups, cream-colored washed with pink and touched with crimson at the heart, as well as their unique fragrance that perfumes the air in late spring, deserves all the gardener's patience. Although it is not widely planted in Western gardens, it is no more difficult to grow than the Magnolia grandiflora, its popular evergreen American cousin. It is in fact more cold-resistant, it just requires a deep, preferably neutral to acidic soil that remains moist.

Within the magnolia family, the Magnolia hypoleuca is one of the largest species. It is a robust and imposing deciduous tree, perfectly hardy, often many-stemmed, developing a wide, airy and sparsely branched crown, overall rounded conical in shape, with a rather dense appearance. Its species name, Hypoleuca, comes from the Greek upo, "almost" and leucon, "pale, white in color", due to the very light color of the undersides of its leaves. Native to Japan and central China, present in the Kuril Islands, it thrives in its native regions in wooded areas located in mountainous zones, where it can reach heights of up to 30m (98ft). In our gardens, it generally reaches heights of 10-12m (33-39ft) with a spread of 8-10m (26-33ft). Its dark green to purplish-brown branches are punctuated with gray lenticels. In spring, they develop dark purplish-brown buds that open into immense obovate leaves, measuring up to 45cm (18in) in length and 20cm (8in) in width. The upper surface of the leaf is a tender green with a satin finish, while the underside is covered with a silvery bloom on young leaves, then sky blue. The leaves are arranged in whorls just below the flowers. Flowering takes place from May to July, depending on the climate, in the form of cream-white flowers, sometimes reaching 20cm (8in) in diameter. They are composed of 9 to 12 petals, cream to greenish in color, or tinged with light pink to light purple. The base of the stamens is a remarkable bright red to crimson. The flowers emit a pronounced and pleasant fragrance, fruity, reminiscent of a ripe melon. They give way to red fruits, cylindrical in shape, grouped in 20cm (8in) long cones. They contain pendant red seeds. The smooth bark of this tree evolves from light brown to gray with age.

This Magnolia, magnificent in foliage and flowers, will work wonders in both a medium-sized garden and a large park! It is most often used as a solitary specimen in the middle of a lawn, or towering over a bed of shorter shrubs. It pairs well with the flamboyant flowers of Rhododendrons and shrubby peonies. Beautiful trees like the Henry's Lime (Tilia henryana) will accompany it during its flowering. The Caramel Tree (Cercidiphylum japonicum) or the Persian Parrotia (Parrotia persica) will enhance its foliage with magnificent autumn colors.

The Magnolia hypoleuca, very common in the land of the rising sun, is used there for its immense leaves in which various dishes are wrapped. It is called Honoki in Japan.