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Description

An unusual, premium magnolia for a border or even a large patio container, Magnolia x brooklynensis 'Black Beauty' is slow growing yet produces many flowers - perfect for growing in small gardens.

A new introduction from the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens breeding program and not widely available, this is one of the darkest magnolias available to the home gardener.

Sumptuous dark purple, almost black, tulip-shaped blooms open to reveal a contrasting creamy white interior and a sublime perfume.

Blooming from late spring into early summer, Black Beauty avoids many damaging late frosts, so manages to keep its flowers pristine when other magnolias do not. An extremely hardy plant in general, surviving below -30C!
Easy to grow, this fully winter-hardy Magnolia makes an eye-catching focal point in smaller spaces, and its super-easy to look after.

Reaching just 1.8m (6ft) in 10 years, your Magnolia will be sent as a bare root bush and is ready for immediate planting - a cost-effective way to get your hands on this rare beauty. Please note that your tree is dormant and will not have any leaves until the spring.

Top Tips

Magnolias require little pruning other than to maintain their shape and remove damaged stems or crossing stems. Do this as soon as possible after flowering to keep the flower buds for the following year.

When planting, choose your site carefully as magnolias dislike being moved.

Magnolia plants establish quicker when their roots are shaded so apply a mulch of rotted bark chips, manure or garden compost after planting, taking care not to mound it around the stem of the plant.

Care Information

Plant magnolias in a sunny or semi shaded position with protection from cold winds and spring frosts.
Magnolias prefer a rich, moist, well drained, acid to neutral soil so incorporate plenty of well-rotted manure or garden compost to improve the soil prior to planting.
On receipt, soak the roots in water for at least 2 hours. If you can't plant straight away, they should be fine for up to a week if left in a cool, dark, frost-free place - keep the bag around the roots with some water inside.
Don't worry if the roots have been cut quite harshly - this is done to encourage the plant to grow.
Dig a hole 2x the width of the roots, forking over the bottom to loosen the soil, and add some good quality fertiliser such as Blood Fish & Bone.
Aim to plant at the same depth as the soil mark on the trunk.
Holding the tree or plant upright in position, backfill the hole with soil, and gently shake the plant, so the soil falls back around the roots.
Use your heel to compact the soil around the plant to ensure good contact around the roots.
If you're planting into pots, place some old rocks, stones or gravel in the bottom of the pot for drainage and ballast and use the best compost you can buy - an equal mix of ericaceous compost with John Innes No. 3 is ideal.
For all trees, we highly recommend using our Tree Planting Kit. Push 40cm of each stake into the soil next to each tree.
With the soft tie, make a figure of eight around both the trunk and stake, and fasten it off.
Spread the Mycorrhizal fungi on the roots and in the soil when planting and ensure that it is in close contact with the roots.
Water the plants weekly - especially in dry weather - for the first 8 weeks or so - do not allow plants to dry out in the first 4 months after planting.

Delivery Information

Our experienced team at the nursery will always carefully package and send your plants nursery fresh in the perfect condition to thrive once you receive and plant them. Although most plants are extremely tough and will not be affected by all but the most extreme of weather conditions, we always avoid dispatching the most perishable plants if extreme frosts or heat is forecast. We also avoid dispatching orders over Bank Holiday weekends.

Please allow us 3-5 working days to dispatch your order. If you have ordered a 'pre-order' item, these will be sent out as soon as possible after the quoted dispatch date and we generally ship your entire order with any pre-ordered items. Once your order has been dispatched, we will send you an email with details on how you can track it.

We send most of our orders via a fully tracked courier service with Yodel. We will send you a tracking link as soon as your order has been dispatched. To avoid perishable items being stuck at depots and deteriorating, we will not require a signature on delivery, and we ask out couriers to leave your item in a safe place ad your delivery address.

*Please note, once your item has been delivered, we cannot be held responsible for loss or theft from your delivery address. If you have delivery instruction and require our courier to leave your item in a specific place, please let us know - there is an option to leave a message for the courier at the checkout.

For smaller and single-item orders, we may send these via the post with Royal Mail - Tracking will not be available for orders sent via this method.

**Please note, we cannot guarantee delivery on a certain day or time. Delivery to outlying postcode areas may take 1-2 days longer, dependent on your location.

For all orders, a small delivery fee of £4.99 will be charged or spend over £49.99 for FREE Delivery!

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