| General Description | Magnolia acuminata ‘Lois’ is a deciduous small sized tree or large shrub. Significant deep yellow flowers appear prior to the dark green simple leaves in late March to mid-April. It is a cross between the native to Canada; Cucumber magnolia and the China native; Yulan Magnolia.
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| ID Characteristic | This tree has vibrant yellow flowers that appear along the branches in mid-spring before the large dark green simple, broadly ovate leaves. The vibrant yellow flower keeps its striking yellow colour throughout its months in bloom and portrays a chalice-like shape.
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| Shape | The shape of this tree tends to have a columnar upright habit with pruning but may also be seen in the landscape in a more rounded form, with the height of the tree typically just surpassing the width of the tree. The branches have about half a meter of clearance from the ground. After about ten years the tree will reach about 9 m tall with a 6 m spread.
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| Landscape | This tree is used in gardens as an eye-catching specimen and should be avoided for street trees use, as they are in fact not urban tolerant. Instead, it could be used as an accent or a shade tree. They are an acceptable specimen to plant underneath structures such as power lines due to its low canopy. Admired for its primrose-like yellow flowers in March and early April, and coppery-gold autumn colour, this tree can be seen being used in architectural type gardens and courtyards. It can also be seen planted as hedge screens. |
| Propagation | It must be propagated through softwood cuttings. Take soft-wood cuttings between spring and early summer, early in the day when the plant is still turgid. Taking non-flowering shoots will give a better chance of rooting. You will want to remove up to 10 cm of the shoot, cutting it cleanly above a bud. The base should be dipped into a hormone powder or liquid and planted in compost. Cuttings that are potted by mid-summer will have good root development to survive the winter. The cutting should be taken from a healthy parent plant.
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| Cultivation | Ideal conditions is evenly moist, but well-drained soil. This tree thrives in acidic soils and should be planted in full to partial sun. It is unable to stand in water for long periods and will die under these conditions. Magnolia acuminata ‘Lois’ is not very tolerant of urban pollution like salt and emissions, therefore should not be planted as a street tree. |
| Pests | No significant pests or diseases affect this tree. May be susceptible to scale insects. Possible diseases include coral spots, phytophthora root rot and honey fungus.
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| Notable Specimens | Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania, United States of America has several notable specimens as part of their Hillside Garden Collection. |
| Habitat | Horticultural origin.
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| Bark/Stem Description | The bark appears to be a reddish brown, with small grey vertical lenticels covering the stem. Upon close inspection the leaf scars on the stem appear in the shape of a “u” or a parabola.
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| Flower/Leaf Bud Description | The bud of the Magnolia is covered in a single keeled scale. It has 8 tepals that can be up to 10 cm long. |
| Leaf Description | The leaves are large, dark green, simple, and broadly ovate with an alternate pattern. The leaves transition from a dark green to a coppery-bronze colour throughout autumn, and can be seen to have pinnate venation. The leaves have an acuminate apex, which is where “acuminata” comes from. |
| Flower Description | The flowers are often found to be sterile. The flower is fragrant and chalice shaped and has 9-12 tepals. The bloom appears around late March to mid-April and lasts for approximately five weeks, where they keep their vibrant colour.
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| Fruit Description | Not ornamentally significant and rarely seen, though the fruit has an aggregate of follicles.
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| Colour Description | Has vibrant yellow flowers. With dark green leaves that turn to a coppery-bronze in the autumn months. |
| Texture Description | Moderately coarse throughout most of the year, becoming coarser come winter. Texture does not change throughout the seasons.
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