Magnolia grandiflora 'Victoria'

When we first moved here, the drive had a row of Kwanzan cherries. Alas, those trees have a limited life span in the PNW and ours are becoming quite elderly. In anticipation of new “allee” trees in the future, I looked about for a new row of trees. About four years ago, I planted 24 small Magnolia grandiflora ‘Victoria’ trees on both sides of the drive. They have all grown substantially, and given that their life expectancy is 50 to 150 years old, I think will be more secure in their guardian task than the pretty cherries.

The shiny leaves with lush brown indumentum, the huge 10-inch scented flowers and the resistance to snow breakage made this an easy choice for our future signature driveway tree. Selected in British Columbia, Canada, this is also a more hardy version of the southern USA nature.