Tree · Magnoliaceae
Jane Magnolia
Magnolia 'Jane'
A small tree hung with tulip-shaped purple-pink flowers that open late enough to clear the spring frost.
Full sun
Every 5–10 days
USDA 4–8
10–15 ft · 3–4.6 m
Overview
Jane magnolia is one of the eight Little Girl hybrids bred at the National Arboretum, a cross made on purpose to flower late. It grows as a compact tree or large shrub to 10 to 15 feet (3 to 4.5 m), its many stems fanning into a rounded, twiggy crown. Before a single leaf shows, the bare branches fill with tulip-shaped flowers, each cupped petal deep purple-pink on the outside and fading to a soft, pale wash within.
The trait that marks Jane out is her timing. The buds swell and split open in mid-to-late spring, a full 2 to 4 weeks behind the star and saucer magnolias, so the tender petals push out after the hardest late frosts have passed. Through summer the tree often sends up a scattering of fresh blooms among the leaves.
It asks little once its roots have taken hold. Give it sun, room to spread its wide crown, and steady moisture while it is young, and this slow grower thickens year by year into a long-lived, sturdy-stemmed tree that reloads its branches with color every spring.
Care
The short version: full sun to part shade in rich, moist, slightly acidic soil, kept watered while it establishes, mulched to hold moisture, and pruned only right after it flowers.
Light
Jane magnolia sets the heaviest crop of purple-pink flowers in full sun, though it takes partial shade or partial sun without complaint. The more sun the crown catches, the thicker the branches load with bloom.
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist with regular watering, every 5 to 10 days, leaning wetter while the roots are still spreading or through a dry spell. A ring of mulch over the soil holds that moisture in. Once established, the tree takes moderate drought in stride.
Soil
Set it in rich, well-drained loam that runs acidic to neutral, ideally a pH of 5.5 to 6.5. Its roots take clay better than most, so heavy, dense ground is workable as long as it drains.
Temperature
The wood is hardy across a wide swing, from a deep cold of -29°F (-34°C) up to summer heat near 95°F (35°C). That toughness is what carries it through USDA zones 4 to 8.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor humidity suits it, so there is no figure to track. Air movement matters more, since still, damp air is what settles powdery mildew as a white film across the leaves.
Feeding
Feed once in early spring with a balanced or acid-forming fertilizer, and that single seasonal feed is plenty. Heavy nitrogen only pushes soft, leggy growth and draws scale to the twigs.
Pruning
Prune right after it flowers, because next year's buds form on this year's growth and a late cut carries the coming blooms off with the wood. Beyond clearing dead or crossing branches, it needs almost none.
Repotting
This is a broad-crowned landscape tree, rarely held in a pot, so repotting seldom comes up. Where one is potted, slowed growth, water rushing straight through, or pale roots circling the sides mean it is time to move up.
Size & spacing
Expect a mature height of 10 to 15 feet (3 to 4.5 m) and a spread of 8 to 12 feet (2.4 to 3.7 m), the crown often as wide as it is tall. Give it that open room from the start so the low, spreading branches can stretch without crowding.
When to plant
Jane magnolia opens on its own late schedule. Plant it in spring or early fall while the weather is mild, then watch the fat buds split in mid-to-late spring, when it flowers later than most magnolias and usually clears the frost.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: Spring or early fall
- Harvest: Mid-to-late spring (mid-April to early May), about 2-4 weeks later than star and saucer magnolias; often reblooms sporadically in summer
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 4–8
Temperature: down to -34°C
Troubleshooting
Jane magnolia stays healthy most years, so trouble is the exception rather than the rule. When something does go wrong, it shows first on the leaves or along the twigs, where you can catch it by eye. Match what you see below and act before it spreads.
Waxy bumps studding the twigs above sticky, blackened leaves
Those raised bumps clinging to the twigs are magnolia scale, sap-suckers sealed beneath a pale waxy shell. As they feed they weep a clear, sticky honeydew that beads along the bark and drips down, and a sooty black mold soon films the leaves beneath in a dull, powdery coat. Prune out the crusted twigs, wet the summer crawlers or dormant scale with horticultural oil, and let predators clean up what remains.
Fix:
- Prune out and destroy heavily infested twigs
- Apply horticultural oil during dormancy or treat crawlers in summer
- Encourage natural predators
Dark blotches on the leaves above twigs that die back
Dark brown to black blotches spreading across the leaves, paired with sunken, caved-in lesions on the wood, mark leaf spot or canker fungi. Once a twig begins to die back and go brittle, prune it out and destroy the wood rather than leave it on the tree. Rake off the fallen spotted leaves, keep the tree watered and mulched, and it will hold firm against the rest.
Fix:
- Prune out and destroy cankered or dead wood
- Rake and remove fallen diseased leaves
- Maintain plant vigor with proper watering and mulching
A chalk-white powder dusting the upper leaves
A fine, flour-like white film settling over the upper leaf surface is powdery mildew, a fungus that takes hold where the air hangs humid and unmoving. On a healthy tree it stays skin-deep, a cosmetic dusting rather than real damage. Thin the crowded growth to let air slip through, gather the fallen leaves in autumn, and reach for a labeled fungicide only when the coating spreads thick.
Fix:
- Rake and dispose of fallen infected leaves
- Improve air circulation by thinning
- Apply a labeled fungicide if severe
Toxicity
For anyone with pets or children, the tree is safe to the core. The ASPCA lists magnolia as non-toxic to cats, dogs, and horses, with no toxic compounds in the leaves, bark, or petals. A curious nibble might bring a passing stomach upset, as any plant can, but nothing in it will poison.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
A cat can nose over the leaves and fallen petals without harm, since the ASPCA lists the Jane magnolia as non-toxic.
Dogs None
A dog that mouths a dropped leaf or a spent purple-pink petal is not poisoned, though a large mouthful of any plant can still bring a passing stomach upset.
Horses None
Horses take no harm from the foliage either, as magnolia holds no toxic principles for them.
Rabbits Safe
The leaves and the fleshy petals carry no toxic risk to rabbits.
Livestock Safe
Grazing animals such as goats and cattle can browse the low leaves and twigs in safety.
Birds Safe
Birds that perch along the bare branches or pick at the fruit come to no harm.
People Safe
Nothing in the leaves, bark, or petals is poisonous, so the tree is safe around children.
No special handling precautions are required for toxicity.
Varieties
Jane is one of eight Little Girl hybrids, and her sisters share the same late-blooming, frost-dodging habit while ranging in petal color from soft pink to deep red-purple. These are the ones you are likely to meet.
Ann
Ann bears slender, upright reddish-purple flowers held erect on the branch, opening among the earliest of the Little Girl series.
Betty
Betty is a Little Girl hybrid whose large blooms flare open to reveal purple-red on the petal backs and a clean white face within.
Susan
Susan is a Little Girl hybrid carrying fragrant fuchsia-red flowers on petals that curl with a slight twist.
Randy
Randy is a more upright Little Girl hybrid whose narrow purple-pink petals stay held tight against the stem.
Judy
Judy, one of the eight National Arboretum Little Girl hybrids, opens in a deep, saturated red-purple.
Pinkie
Pinkie is the Little Girl hybrid with paler pink petals that unfurl later than its sisters.
Ricki
Ricki is a spreading Little Girl hybrid whose flowers open in deep purple-red.
How to propagate
Because Jane is a named hybrid, she comes true only when cloned. Three methods do it, each suited to a different level of patience and skill.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Early to mid summer using softwood to semi-hardwood growth · Several weeks to root; one or more seasons to establish
Cut lengths of softwood to semi-hardwood growth, still green and flexible, in early to mid summer, since a named hybrid like Jane holds true only when cloned. The cuttings take several weeks to root and a season or more to establish. Seed will not repeat the parent, which leaves cuttings as the home gardener's route.
GraftingDemanding
Late winter to early spring onto compatible magnolia rootstock · One to several seasons
Nurseries join a Jane bud or shoot to a compatible magnolia rootstock in late winter or early spring to reproduce it true to type. The work is demanding and runs one to several seasons to establish, which keeps it mostly a commercial method.
LayeringModerate
Spring · One or more seasons to root before separation
In spring, a low, supple branch pinned against the soil will set roots while still fed by the parent. It needs a season or more to root before you sever it, and the plant that lifts free is an exact clone of the original.
Myths
Magnolias bloom too early and always lose their flowers to spring frost.
Jane and the rest of the Little Girl series unfurl their petals 2 to 4 weeks later than the star and saucer magnolias. That later opening usually lifts the flowers past the worst spring frosts, and the tree often pushes out a scattering of fresh blooms in summer on top of the spring show.
Magnolia flowers and foliage are poisonous to dogs and cats.
The ASPCA lists magnolia as non-toxic to dogs, cats, and horses, with no toxic principles in leaf, petal, or bark. A curious pet that noses or mouths a fallen bloom takes no harm from it.