Garden Alphabet: Magnolia x soulangeana (Saucer Magnolia/Tulip Tree)

Magnolia x soulangeana aka Tulip Tree or Saucer Magnolia is very popular here in the San Fernando Valley. I find myself passing these small trees almost everywhere I drive these days. Perhaps I am noticing them more, too, as this is the time of year when they call seem to bloom together. It is a one-a-year show, though, with the trees returning to leafy green for the majority of the year. Still, their dramatic flowering does make quite a statement each spring and makes the small tree very worth it.

Magnolia × soulangeana (saucer magnolia) is a hybrid plant in the genus Magnolia and family Magnoliaceae. It is a deciduous tree with large, early-blooming flowers in various shades of white, pink, and purple. It is one of the most commonly used magnolias in horticulture, being widely planted in the British Isles, especially in the south of England; and in the United States, especially the east and west coasts.[2]– Wikipedia.org