I want to buy and plant a bracken brown beauty magnolia tree, but I live in Michigan (Zone 5).?

the tree is a zone 6 and up. Can I still plant it? We have been having mild winters and have heard that they thrive in places such as cincinnati, ohio.

I want to buy and plant a bracken brown beauty magnolia tree, but I live in Michigan (Zone 5).?
I can't remember who said it but a wise gardener once said "i consider everything hardy till i have killed it three times" and while that may be a tad expensive i think the idea that hardiness zones are worth experimenting with has merit. The cultivar you mention is considered on of the hardier forms of Magnolia grandiflora (along with Edith Bouge and Victoria) would seem to be worth experimenting with in your area.


Here are a few tips on pushing the limits of your zone.


- remember micro-climate can make all the differance in the world and try to plant in a sheltered location .


- start small, less expensive and small plants are more adaptable and they will also benifit from things like snow cover in those crucial first years of establishment.


- if possible buy from a nursery that is located as far north as possible and make sure the plants they are selling have made it through at least one of their local winters.


- Many magnolias are propagated and grown a long way south and then flood the market in spring thse plants especially the larger ones can find it hard to adapt to a new climate.


- If possible buy one that has not been grafted (this may be hard to find but specialist magnolia nurseries might have them) Plants growing on their own roots can regrow if they are killed to the ground and things like rootstock hardiness (those southern folks don't have to worry about things like that with their mild climates) are removed from the equation.





You should also expect that the plant will take a while to get established and never grow to the dimensions that it would have further south and a bit of winter protection can help in the early years.





So will it grow? Hard to say but it does well on the west coast in some areas that get fairly cold (well by their standards anyway) and it will be ok down to about 0 deg f with no problem and i can think of a few plants in southern ontario as well but i must say i have always failed with it in my neck of the woods despite the reasonably mild winters as of late (havent hit -30 deg C in years) and this failure applies to all the M. grandiflora cultivars however it will survive in an un heated polyhouse that only gives a few degrees of cold protection.


Good luck Mark
Reply:We have one in Garden city. Not sure what species it is but it's between the houses so it's somewhat protected in the winter.