Mystery magnolia

Due to our location, which is slightly more favourable in terms of microclimate and the likelihood of late frosts than much of the UK, Magnolia's are rather popular here.

I've been meaning to wander around and take some photos of the best of them; 3 story Magnolia soulangeanas and gigantic tree-sized Magnolia stellatas (I think this may be the best of the bunch when big) but for various life-related reasons I've failed in this task. I may yet get some shots, I may have to wait til next year for some. C'est la vie.

I have however got shots of one Magnolia, one that rather intigues me. Here it is:

You may have noticed that it's yellow. Not buttercup yellow perhaps but at the least yellowish. I'd be happy to call this a yellow magnolia. I'd also be rather happy if it were in my garden.



You may also have noticed it's deciduous. Most species Magnolias that are yellow(ish) are evergreen, so I think this is a hybrid. They are typically crosses between evergreen yellow species and deciduous big flowered species, we have a little one called Yellow River, others include Yellow Bird, Butterflies and Sundance. These hybrids are being improved all the time; each new cross produces plants that are more yellow and less yellowish. With that being said I can only really remember the yellow hybrids appearing relatively recently and this plant compares pretty well to a house so I'm guessing its planter was an early adopter. If anyone has any thoughts on the variety I'd be delighted to hear them.