Magnolia grandiflora 'Goliath'

Magnolia grandiflora is reckoned to be the most magnificent broad-leaved plant that can be grown outside in Britain.  Here we have a lovely young cultivar, M. g. ‘Goliath’, in the magnolia triangle above the Rose Garden.  The glossy undulated leaves are a perfect foil for the beautiful pure white flowers which have a delicious lemony scent.  Each flower carries male and female parts which reach maturity at different times, and the shedding of the stigma can be seen before the pollen part matures. 

Magnolias were the earliest flowering plants; there are fossil remains from the Cretaceous period which was before there were flying insects, and beetles were the pollinators.

M. grandiflora is native to the American Southeastern coastal plain and has been in cultivation here since the early 17th century.  M.g ‘Goliath’ was a selection from a Guernsey nursery in 1910.

M. grandiflora are perfectly hardy here, though frequently grown against a wall, but grow much more slowly than in warmer countries eg in Italy they quickly become huge.

It has been found that they are more drought tolerant than the much more frequently planted M. x soulangeana.

Flowering in Britain is usually between August and September, though our plant produces flowers successively over a longer period.

The genus was named after Pierre Magnol, a professor of medicine  and Prefect of Montpellier Botanical Garden.