Magnolia 'Sunburst'

Sunburst Magnolia is covered in stunning fragrant lemon yellow cup-shaped flowers held atop the branches in mid spring, which emerge from distinctive light green flower buds. It has dark green deciduous foliage. The large pointy leaves turn coppery-bronze in fall. The fruits are showy pink pods displayed in early fall.

Landscape Attributes

Sunburst Magnolia is a deciduous tree with a distinctive and refined pyramidal form. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other landscape plants with finer foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance tree, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Planting & Growing

Sunburst Magnolia will grow to be about 30 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 25 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 3 feet from the ground, and should not be planted underneath power lines. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 80 years or more.

This tree does best in full sun to partial shade. It requires an evenly moist well-drained soil for optimal growth, but will die in standing water. It is not particular as to soil type, but has a definite preference for acidic soils. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution, therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.