Photo: Fritzflohrreynolds, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Umbrella Magnolia

Magnolia tripetala

Also called umbrella tree, elkwood.

Leaves up to 2 feet long gather at each branch tip like the ribs of an umbrella, around creamy white flowers up to 10 inches across.

Showy flowersTolerates shadeWildlife value

Type: Small tree
Mature height: 15–30 ft
USDA zones: 4–9
Growth rate: Medium
Sun: Full, Part, Shade
Soil moisture: Average
Grows wild in: Rich moist slopes, the forest understory, stream banks and the Appalachians
Native range: 18 states and the District of Columbia, north to Massachusetts, south to Florida and west to Oklahoma
List all 19
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia
Also recorded in 4 other states, outside its native range. See what is native in your state

Hardiness zones Find your zone by ZIP code

Umbrella magnolia is a small, often multi-trunked understory tree of rich woods, centered on the southern Appalachians. Its flowers have a scent many people dislike, though it does not carry far. NatureServe counts it secure, with about 1,000 wild populations, yet Florida and Indiana list it as endangered and Pennsylvania as threatened. Plant it under tall trees at a woodland edge, where its whorls of big leaves give the shade a tropical look.

Size, growth and what to expect

Umbrella magnolia grows at a medium pace, a foot and a half a year in our growth estimator. It makes a tree of 15 to 30 feet with a crown as wide, and a few reach 45 feet. The largest on record, in Pennsylvania, was 50 feet tall.

The flowers open in April and May as the leaves unfold, creamy white and 6 to 10 inches across. A cone-like fruit 4 to 6 inches long follows, green turning rose-red, and splits in August and September to show red seeds. Birds and small mammals eat the seeds and spread them.

It grows wild from southern Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana south to South Carolina, the Florida panhandle and Mississippi, with outlying stands in the Ozarks and the Ouachita Mountains. Its home is rich woods, ravines and stream banks, mostly in the uplands.

How to grow Umbrella Magnolia

Umbrella magnolia grows best in part shade and tolerates fairly deep shade. In the North it takes full sun if the soil stays moist. Give it a rich, moist, acid soil that drains well, neither dry nor soggy. Shelter it from strong wind, which tears the big leaves. Plant it 15 feet from a wall, and set trees 20 feet apart. Keep it at least 15 feet from overhead wires.

Saplings ship potted. The roots are shallow and fleshy, so plant in spring as growth starts. Dig a hole wider than the root ball and no deeper. Set the root flare at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and keep the mulch clear of the trunk. Clean the pulp off the red seed, and never let it dry. Sow it outdoors in fall, half an inch deep, under hardware cloth against mice. Seedlings come up over one or two springs, and many seeds are empty.

Water weekly through the first two summers and in every dry spell after that, since it takes drought poorly. Keep a thick mulch over the roots to hold them cool and moist. Deer and rabbits browse young magnolias, so guard the stem with wire for the first few years. Prune only dead or crossing wood.

Each flower carries both male and female parts, so there are no male and female trees to pair. A single umbrella magnolia sets seed on its own, since beetles carry pollen from one of its flowers to another flower on the same tree. Magnolia scale and the yellow poplar weevil are the pests NC State Extension lists, and the Morton Arboretum adds verticillium wilt. Late spring frosts often damage the flowers.

Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them.

Sources (17)