Leonard Messel Magnolia

(Magnolia loebneri 'Leonard Messel')

Date Planted:  April 22, 1999

Family:  Magnoliaceae

Hardiness:  Hardy in the Gorham, ME area; Zone 3b-7

Mature Dimensions:  20-30’ in height, 25-35’ in width

Habit:  Broadly rounded

Bark:  Grayish-brown, medium texture

Buds:  Flower:  ovoid, with a fat base; furry gray and 1 to 1 ½ inches long.  Leaf:  silky-hairy, fat in middle and tapering at ends; ¼ inch in length

Leaves:  Emerge after flowers as a yellow-green color that deepens to green in late summer; yellow-bronze in fall.  Simple, alternate, narrow obovate with entire margins; 4-6 inches long, 1-2 inches wide

Flowers:  Fragrant, emerge in the 3^rd week of April in Gorham; persist for up to a month.  12-15 petals 4-6 inches long, fuchsia-pink with a purple-pink line along the petal’s center

Fruit:  Cylindrical aggregate of follicles, 1-2” long

Pests/Disease:  Rare occurrence of mildew

Reference Pages:  Dirr M.1998. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants. Stipes Publishing Co., Champaign IL

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