A Gorgeous Yellow Magnolia
-
- May
- 12
Since the 1950s, Brooklyn Botanic Garden has been crossing magnolia varieties to produce new and unusual cultivars. Henriette Suhr has several of them in her Chappaqua garden.
One of the most unusual has gorgeous yellow blooms with a flush of plum at its base.
It’s named in honor of Judy Zuk, the longtime president of the Botanic Garden who died last year of breast cancer. It’s said to smell like Fruit Loops.
Known botanically as Magnolia x brooklynensis ‘Judy Zuk,’ this deciduous tree is hardy in USDA Zones 6 and above, and maybe Zone 5 if planted in a protected spot that will keep it from blooming too early in spring.
The candelabralike branching habit of this medium-sized magnolia tree displays the yellow flowers and shiny green foliage to full advantage.
‘Judy Zuk’ likes full sun and moist, well-drained soil. At 10 years, it should be about 28 feet tall and 8 feet wide, according to rarefindnursery.com.
When Zuk retired in 2005, the garden’s stunning Magnolia Plaza was named in her honor and this beautiful yellow magnolia was christened ‘Judy Zuk.’ Magnolias were her favorite plant in the Botanic Garden.
Other named cultivars in the signature series developed in Brooklyn include ‘Elizabeth,’ a vigorous tree with clear yellow flowers, and ‘Hattie Carthan,’ Marillyn,’ ‘Lois,’ Evamaria’ and ‘Yellow Bird.’
‘Judy Zuk’ plants are still hard to find. Ask your local nursery if they can order it for you, or you might try mail-order sources such as Rare Find Nursery, Fairweather Gardens or McCracken’s Nursery.
This entry was posted
on Monday, May 12th, 2008 at 2:58 pm by Bill Cary.
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Bill Cary grew up in Louisville, Ky. His gardening was limited to growing parsley and impatiens on the windowsill of Manhattan walkups until the mid-1990s when he bought a rundown old chicken farm on 8 acres in the Hudson Valley. Now he spends his weekends chasing deer, hacking away at invasive shrubs and vines and wondering why he doesn`t have more meadow and less lawn.
