Magnolia x ‘Lois’ – Yellow Magnolia – 7-Gallon

This 1998 introduction from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is a hybrid whose parents include the  native Cucumber Magnolia (M. acuminata) and Yulan Magnolia (M. denudata) from China. ‘Lois’ is a strong, upright grower with a rounded habit that blooms a little later than its sister plant, Magnolia ‘Elizabeth’; ‘Lois’ comes into bloom just as ‘Elizabeth’ is finishing. The delayed bloom helps ‘Lois’ escape late Spring frosts. The flowers are lightly fragrant and a good deep yellow that fade to a paler yellow – they hold their color longer than the flowers of ‘Elizabeth’.