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Magnolia 'Betty'

 
Magnolia 'Betty'
Magnolia 'Betty'
Still small after five years in our garden, but the flowers get more plentiful every year

Family magnoliaceae
Life cycle tree (Z5-9)
Flowers purple (April)
Size 12-15'
Light sun-part shade

Now we've got both 'Elizabeth' and 'Betty' magnolias! While it sounds like Betty should be a littler version of Elizabeth, they are actually quite different, in habit and in flower color. Betty is purple, and blooms a bit later than some other magnolias. I was particularly drawn to this one when Herb of Point Phillip Perennials pointed out his own specimens, one growing as a tree, the other more like a bush, both still sporting blooms in early September. Looking for information on the web, I see no mention of such continuous bloom, so I was afraid it was just be the magic of the location that coaxes the flowers to keep coming at Point Phillip. But I've already seen a few blooms in July, so I'm confident that our Betty will provide charm and seclusion to the patio by our big pond. In her first year she provided exactly one flower, arriving two weeks later than our star magnolia's display. The photo above was for year 2 - not much overall growth at that point, but oh, those flowers! Since then, our little tree has grown slowly but steadily, providing ever more flowers at the edge of our pond-side patio.
This magnolia is one of the 'Little Girl' series, which are hybrids of M. liliflora 'Nigra' and M. stellata 'Rosea'. More recently, we acquired its cousin 'Ann', which also features pink-purple flowers. Too early to say in which ways it differs from 'Betty'

Magnolia 'Betty'
Looks like Betty is waving hankies at passersby
Magnolia 'Betty'
Flower in late July!

We left this plant behind in our Pennsylvania garden (and wish it well); we don't grow it in Houston.

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