Quote:
Originally Posted by montréaliste
The magnolia comments also got my ears to stick out.
I have a magnolia tree in my backyard in Montreal and there are a lot in the city although they are definitely not a common or native cultivar. I live in a neighborhood south of downtown (Little Burgundy) that is somewhat protected as it lies downhill from downtown and is at the bottom of the slope of Mount Royal, and as such benefits from microclimactic protection probably. But magnolias seem to bloom and thrive in southern Quebec anyways.
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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