''Magnolia'' × ''loebneri'' Kache is a hybrid of two Magnolia species, the Japanese '' Magnolia kobus'' and '' M. stellata''. crossed by ''Garteninspektor'' Max Löbner of Pillnitz, Germany, shortly before World War I; it first flowered in 1917. The deciduous, elegant and compact multi-stemmed small flowering tree or large

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

, slowly attaining a height of and somewhat wider at maturity, is hardy to USDA Zone 4. Its fragrant late flowers, following its ''stellata'' parent by a couple of weeks, escape unexpected late spring frosts, but appear on the bare branches, to great effect. The deep pink buds open in informal strap-like tepals with pale shell pink upper surfaces and darker pink-purple lower ones. Like most magnolias, it thrives best on acid soils. The selection, 'Leonard Messel' was a chance hybrid that was developed at Messel's garden in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, Nymans. This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

. Also on the market are white 'Ballerina' and the late-flowering white 'Merrill' that extend the ''loebneri'' season. The ‘White Rose’ cultivar is characterized by an upright flower form whose petals not become floppy and firm tepals that drop only after the blooms have faded. 'White Rose' was an open pollinated seedling of ‘Ballerina.' ''Magnolia'' × ''loebneri'' are susceptible to magnolia scale, just like other saucer, star, and lily magnolias. But it is possible to grow healthy specimens with proper cultivation techniques, and by checking that plants are disease free when received.

Gallery

File:Magnolia-loebneri.JPG File:Magnoliaceae - Magnolia stellata rosea-002.JPG, 'Leonard Messel' File:Magnolia x loebneri flower.jpg, 'Merrill' flower detail File:Magnolia x loebneri flower 2.jpg, 'Merrill' flower File:Magnolia x loebneri fruit.jpg, 'Merrill' immature fruit

References

External links

''Magnolia'' × ''loebneri'' images in the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University Plant Image Database
* Gapinsky, Andrew
"A magnolia with an Arboretum pedigree."
Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University website, 24 April 2014. Accessed 27 April 2020. {{DEFAULTSORT:Magnolia loebneri loebneri Ornamental trees