[montréaliste]

Originally Posted by strongbad635

The Magnolia genus is pretty large (201 documented species), and I think the tree several posters are referring to is Magnolia grandiflora, the classic Southern Magnolia. While there are many more hardy varieties of magnolia trees like Star Magnolia and Saucer Magnolia, it's the grandiflora variety that really serves as a bellweather tree for whether an area has a subtropical or continental climate.

I've visited all of the following cities several times and basically this is how it shakes down for M.grandiflora in the following cities:

Large specimens that almost never have leaf burn:
Atlanta, Memphis, Nashville, DC, Baltimore, Little Rock, Dallas, Richmond

Slight leaf burn (moderate in the worst winters) and specimens don't grow very large:
Philadelphia, Louisville, Springfield/Joplin, Wichita

Moderate leaf burn every winter:
Cincinnati, St. Louis, Kansas City, New York

Marginal survival rate:
New Haven, Pittsburgh. Columbus, Indianapolis

It's a joke to even try M.grandiflora:
Boston, Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Des Moines, Denver

Thanks for the info Strongbad, I can imagine planting a Grandiflora would be a pretty big joke in this city, for sure...