Saucer magnolia ‘Jane’
Magnolia soulangiana ‘Jane’        

Text by Christine McComas
Photo by Christine McComas

What a spring nightmare--your saucer magnolia at its blooming best gets zapped by frost, turning a blossoming beauty into a sad, brown tree overnight.

In the 1950s, the National Arboretum tackled this problem, and in 1968 ‘Jane’ was released. The result of carefully controlled crossings, this hybrid saucer magnolia blooms two to four weeks later than other magnolias. By blooming later, frost damage becomes unlikely.

‘Jane’ covers herself with a rich display of dark pink tulip-like flowers with white throats, opening from fuzzy brown buds.  Growing to 10 to 15 feet, ‘Jane’ is a large shrub or small tree.

'Jane' magnolias do well in full sun to light shade and a loamy soil with decent moisture, though they can tolerate poorly drained, heavy clay soils as well as dry soils.