Magnolia grandiflora Alta Tmgh

Magnolia grandiflora 'Alta' is a highly desirable selection of a majestic evergreen tree. With a particularly narrow and conical habit, it creates a dark and glossy fir-like silhouette in the garden, adorned with abundant evergreen foliage throughout the year. Unlike the species, it flowers well before its tenth anniversary. The spectacle takes place in summer, lasting almost three months, with magnificent flowers resembling large white tulips with a deliciously lemony fragrance. 

Native to the Southeastern United States, Magnolia grandiflora thrives in bright light, heat, humidity, and rich, deep soil. Its range extends from Texas to Virginia, including the northern and central parts of Florida. 'Alta' is a recent cultivar selected for its narrower and more compact habit, as well as its rapid flowering. At maturity, this small tree reaches a height of about 7 m (23 ft) with a spread of 1.5 to 2 m (5 to 7 ft). Its growth is relatively slow, although it quickly forms a trunk from which upright branches emerge, creating a natural looking tree with a narrow pyramid shape. The flowering mainly occurs in summer, from June to August-September (in the southeastern USA, flowering begins in late April and ends in July). The large solitary flowers, 15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 in) in diameter and resembling tulips, consist of thick, pure white petals surrounding a cone covered with yellow stamens. Each flower only lasts for a day on the tree, but they continuously renew themselves. This flowering is followed by the formation of large reddish cones that are quite decorative, revealing red seeds. The evergreen leaves are alternate, simple, leathery, and 15-20 cm (6-8 in) long. They are dark and glossy on the upper surface, with a matte bronze underside.

Magnolia grandiflora 'Alta' is mainly used as a specimen tree in small gardens, but it can also be used as an avenue tree along larger properties or in a free hedge. Choose a strategic location in the garden to admire this tree, perhaps the most beautiful of all evergreens, and enjoy its lemon-scented flowering. It could be paired, for example, with another large magnolia, but one that is deciduous and blooms in spring, such as the Magnolia soulangeana.