Magnolia Stellata ‘Royal Star’

A beautiful spring flowering multi-stemmed deciduous Magnolia that can reach 3 metres tall and wide over 20 years. Magnolia stellata ‘Royal Star’ flowers slightly earlier than others and we’ve heard reports of it growing rather faster, too.

Pale pink buds in early spring will form on leafless branches. They open into extravagant starbursts of white flowers. with narrow, lax sepals that are whorled, floppy and voluptuous and the simple reason behind its name ‘Royal Star’.

The foliage when it arrives is a pleasing medium green, elliptical and small enough to be soft. We plant this tree to add spring colour and contrasting form to a border of architectural evergreens: it’s a welcome splosh of delicacy against coarser leaves and sharper shapes. Royal Star also makes a nice specimen tree which can stand alone and regal in the centre of a velvety crisp-edged lawn, which will be stately and rigorously-kept, of course.

A hardy tree happy in any fertile and moist well drained soil but protected from the kind of cold north winds that scorch buds and make them fall too soon. If you need to tidy it, do so in midsummer when the tree is in full leaf.

N.B. When clipping several plants with the same tool, have a bucket containing a 5% bleach solution and swish your blades around for 30 seconds between plants to sterilise them. This will help avoid the chance of cross contamination of disease.

As with all woody plants, plant high, exposing as much of the taper at the base of the trunk as possible. Allowing soil to accumulate round the base of a tree can be fatal. Keep very well watered when first planted.