Magnolia Tina Durio

Magnolia 'Tina Durio' is a hybrid variety that quickly forms a small tree with a regular conical habit and blooms early in the season, before the leaves appear. Its branches are covered with large flowers that are barely tinged with pale pink at the base, creating a splendid, eye-catching spectacle in the garden. After flowering, its large, bright green leaves appear. Hardy to at least -15°C, it grows in most soils, including limestone, as it is grafted onto a variety that is not demanding in terms of soil type. While this hybrid deserves to be planted as a focal point for its flowers and architectural structure, it will also thrive in mixed borders or in front of large trees.

Magnolia belongs to the Magnoliaceae family. There are about a hundred species of Magnolia, trees and shrubs, most of which are native to the warm temperate regions of Asia and North America. The genus includes both deciduous and evergreen plants.
Magnolia 'Tina Durio' belongs to the Gresham hybrids group, named after a Californian breeder who first used pollen from Magnolia x veitchii to pollinate flowers of other species. By choosing Magnolia x soulangeana 'Lennei Alba' (a cross between M. denudata and M. liliiflora) as the second parent, Todd Gresham obtained this variety, which was named in 1984 by Ken Durio, the director of Louisiana Nurseries in Opelousas (Louisiana), in honour of his daughter.
This Magnolia 'Tina Durio' has a relatively fast growth rate, reaching approximately 4m in height within 10 years of planting. At maturity, it forms a fairly regular rounded dome with a diameter of 8m and a height of the same size. This shape is particularly highlighted in April when it is covered with large white flowers, slightly tinged with pale pink at the base. With 9 to 12 tepals, which are sepals and petals that are very similar in morphology, the corollas often exceed 25cm in diameter and can even reach up to 30cm in the largest flowers. The centre is occupied by the beige-pink sexual organs, and they emit a light and pleasant fragrance. Appearing in abundance before the leaves, the flower buds face upright towards the sky before opening up into a cup shape, making them very decorative. The size of the flowers tends to increase with the age of the plant, which means that the tree will become more beautiful year after year. The rather large, oval to elliptical, beautiful bright green leaves do not have any particular ornamental interest.
An interesting feature is that this variety is grafted onto a Magnolia kobus rootstock, which is probably the hardiest species and least demanding in terms of soil. Therefore, even if your soil is (reasonably) alkaline, you can plant 'Tina Durio' without condemning it to languish and suffer from chlorosis.

Magnolia 'Tina Durio' is suitable for gardens with non-neutral to acidic soil. Its decent hardiness allows it to be planted in the majority of situations, and it truly deserves it, considering how spectacular its flowering is. It is tempting to plant it as a focal point on a lawn, but since its flowering period does not exceed 3 weeks, it would be wiser to integrate it into a border with other plants that have staggered flowering times. Chimonanthus praecox, a Chinese shrub with highly fragrant, sulfur-yellow winter flowers, is also not demanding in terms of soil type and would be a great companion. To follow in its footsteps, you have a wide choice of shrubs with spring flowering, such as Syringa microphylla 'Superba', a compact Lilac with clusters of fragrant pink flowers. And for the summer, you can choose from the range of Hydrangea quercifolia, the Oakleaf Hydrangea, which is also accommodating and will reward you with large panicles of flowers in summer and beautiful autumn colours.