Saucer Magnolia
Magnolia × soulangeana
Saucer magnolia is a deciduous garden hybrid — no wild range — created around 1820 by French horticulturist Étienne Soulange-Bodin by crossing Magnolia denudata with M. liliiflora at his estate near Paris (it first flowered in 1826). It is one of the most widely planted flowering trees in temperate gardens worldwide, prized for its spectacular goblet-shaped blooms in white, pink, and deep purple-rose that open on bare branches in early spring. The honest catch is its Achilles heel: the flowers emerge weeks before the last frost date across much of its hardiness range, and a single late-frost night after bud-break turns those magnificent blooms to brown mush — a reliable disappointment in zones 5 and 6 in the northern United States. Site under a south-facing wall or in a frost-sheltered hollow to gain even a few degrees of protection.
Climate fit: narrow (34/100)
Focal point
Structure
Pollinator
Light
Full sun / Part sun
Water
Moderate water
Mature size
180-300" tall · 240" apart
Hardy in zones
5a-9a
very cold to frosty winters
Native status
Cultivated — no wild native range
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Magnolias are among the most ancient flowering plants and are pollinated primarily by beetles (Coleoptera), which pre-date bees as pollinators.
Cold hardiness
These values are location-based: this location's current hardiness is the baseline, and the 2050 value is a projected future climate for this same location.
Now
Zone 6b
Plotwright
USDA Zone 6b
-5°F to 0°F
Well-suited
Zone 7a
Plotwright
0°F to 5°F
Well-suited
In plain terms: This location has cold winters. Its winters are projected to keep warming through 2050.
✓
Well-suited today and still thriving in 2050.
Heat tolerance
Heat tolerance values are location-based too: heat days today are observed at this site, and the 2050 value projects this same location under a future climate.
Loading AHS heat-zone data for this location...
Where this plant fits
Suitable across 40 ecoregions — 39 climate-resilient through 2070 · 1 newly possible by 2070. Best matches first.
Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests
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Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests
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Arizona Mountains forests
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Atlantic coastal pine barrens
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Blue Mountains forests
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Canadian Aspen forests and parklands
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Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests
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Central Tallgrass prairie
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Central-Southern Cascades Forests
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Chilean Matorral
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Educator packet
Plant packet
Saucer Magnolia educator packet
Saucer magnolia is a deciduous garden hybrid — no wild range — created around 1820 by French horticulturist Étienne Soulange-Bodin by crossing Magnolia denudata with M. liliiflora at his estate near Paris (it first flowered in 1826). It is one of the most widely planted flowering trees in temperate gardens worldwide, prized for its spectacular goblet-shaped blooms in white, pink, and deep purple-rose that open on bare branches in early spring. The honest catch is its Achilles heel: the flowers emerge weeks before the last frost date across much of its hardiness range, and a single late-frost night after bud-break turns those magnificent blooms to brown mush — a reliable disappointment in zones 5 and 6 in the northern United States. Site under a south-facing wall or in a frost-sheltered hollow to gain even a few degrees of protection.
Scientific name
Magnolia × soulangeana
Plant type
tree
Hardiness
5a-9a
Light
full-sun, part-sun
Moisture
moderate
Spacing
240 inches
Classroom prompts
- Which plant traits are observations, and which are care recommendations?
- How would this plant fit change if the garden location moved warmer, colder, wetter, or drier?
- Which source-backed facts would you cite in a lesson handout?
Use the Sources & citations section below for page citation styles and the field-level source list.
Sources & citations
Cite this page
For lesson plans, articles, or research that uses this page. To cite a single upstream fact instead, use its specific source listed below.
Plotwright. (2026, May 17). Saucer Magnolia (Magnolia × soulangeana). Retrieved 2026, June 30, from https://plotwright.com/plants/magnolia-x-soulangeana
Sources for every fact
Every fact on this page traces to a source. 18 fields cited - 18 source-backed.
RHS Find a Plant
Botanical research database
Backs 17 fields
Identity
Summary
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