Plant Files: Magnolia 'Leonard Messel'
In search of the best
I recently featured the aristocratic Magnolia campbellii here on the Plant Files. What a magnificent tree, yet beyond the scope for most of us. Magnolia campbellii represents an investment in time and space that few of us can feasibly manage.
Thankfully there are magnolias for smaller spaces. Of course their suitability depends on just how small a space we're talking about; most magnolias will physically fit into a small space as long as you don't want to grow anything else, and it's imperative that you have enough space to step back in admiration. Magnolias are pretty viewed at close quarters, but to truly enjoy the spectacle you need to see them from a distance. The larger the plant, the further away you must be to appreciate it.
There are many fabulous trees to catch the gardener's eye, and it's probably not wise to grow only magnolias unless you have a very large garden. This means that if you want to grow a magnolia it must be the very best.
Introducing Magnolia x loebneri 'Leonard Messel. I'm not suggesting that this one is the best in terms of my personal favourite (which is the giant Magnolia 'Iolanthe', if you were asking), but best for reasons of sound horticulture.
This is not a particularly rare magnolia; great news. Excellent plants shouldn't be rare and obscure (read: expensive), but should be widely available and easily grown. Certainly Magnolia 'Leonard Messel' ticks those boxes, and best of all it's an absolute beauty too.
Magnolia x loebneri (that's 'cross loebneri' if you're listening to this article) is a hybrid between the charming and effervescent 'star magnolia', Magnolia stellata, and the tough and gorgeous Magnolia kobus. This combination has given us a great number of excellent garden magnolias, many of which are incidentally far more tolerant of heavier and more alkaline soils (within reason). In the case of Magnolia 'Leonard Messel' we have a tree with the charm and grace of a pink and white Magnolia stellata coupled with the resilience and good growth of Magnolia kobus. There are more vigorous alternatives within the group of hybrids, but that comparative lack of vigour (for Magnolia 'Leonard Messel' is not a weak grower) translates into an easy going garden plant.
The result is a magnificently floriferous tree smothered in a great profusion of flowers, white inside and pink outside to give extra depth to the colouring. This is a more upright tree than Magnolia stellata, and has a bit more resilience against frost and bad weather. I'm not saying that the blooms are immune to damage, but thanks to the inherent resilience of the plant and the sheer number of flowers produced by even a modest specimen you would have to be very unlucky not to enjoy at least some good flowers during a bad spring.
Later in the year the autumn colour is pleasant too. We're not talking about a knock-out display of brightly coloured leaves, but instead a gentle butter-yellow or tarnished gold for a couple of weeks before the leaves fall.
Should pruning be necessary this magnolia takes it well. The typical nature of Magnolia 'Leonard Messel' is to make a fairly dense tree. Given that a dense branch structure translates to a greater density of flowers, my inclination is to avoid trying to thin the branches too much. However a little corrective pruning or the lifting of lower branches to make it into a more pronounced tree is not a problem. You can read about the art of magnolia pruning here.
I'm wary of saying for sure that this is categorically the best magnolia of them all as what constitutes 'best' will vary according to the needs and desires of the individual gardener. If you need a fast growing tree that stands tall then other magnolias such as Magnolia 'Iolanthe' or Magnolia 'Felix Jury' would be more suitable for you. If you don't want a flush of pink to your flowers then Magnolia kobus or Magnolia stellata might be more suitable. There are many fine magnolias to grow but I genuinely believe that Magnolia 'Leonard Messel' occupies a sweet spot for most gardeners, growing big but not too big, being tough and resilient but retaining an air of delicacy, and above all being reasonably affordable and absolutely wonderful.