Magnolia grandiflora 'Bracken's Brown Beauty' (Southern Magnolia)

Considered one of the most attractive magnolia cultivars, 'Bracken's Brown Beauty' is a medium-sized, showy cultivar of Magnolia grandiflora, also called southern magnolia, that grows up to 30-50' tall with a straight trunk and a pyramidal growth habit out to only about 15-30' wide. Foliage is thick, leathery, and glossy evergreen, adding attractive appeal year-round, and spring to summer flowers are heavily scented, smelling of ginger or citrus. Well known for their ornamental appeal, magnolia flowers are creamy white in color and quite large, typically reaching 5-6" across or more. These bowl-shaped blossoms open in the morning and close at night, playing host to a number of pollinators including a variety of bees and beetles. Come late summer or fall, flowers are replaced with cone-like seedpods that contain large, bright red seeds that attract birds.

The 'Bracken's Brown Beauty' cultivar's evergreen foliage is large and smooth, shiny deep green above and a dark, mocha brown color underneath. With better cold tolerance than many other cultivars, 'Bracken's Brown Beauty' holds onto its foliage better than many other southern magnolias, and has the bonus attribute of not being especially picky. This cultivar requires only medium to wet soils in full sun, where it will grow to become an excellent, not-too-large specimen tree. Magnolia grandiflora 'Bracken's Brown Beauty' is easy to transplant, and grows very well as a specimen tree or as a privacy screen.