White champaca
Magnolia × alba
Slender, richly scented white flowers tied to the Vietnamese courtyard.
Care and placement
Needs 6–8 hours of sun (afternoon shade where intense), sandy acidic well-drained soil at pH 5.6–6.5 and moderate watering; avoid strong wind; propagated by grafting or air layering.
Draft mature dimensions
Maximum height (cm): 800 cm · Maximum spread (cm): 300 cm
Things to consider
There is no official toxicity rating for this plant, so it is not claimed safe or toxic. Take care: do not eat it or use it as medicine, wear gloves and wash hands after pruning, and keep children and pets from chewing it.
How to grow and care for it
Planting and pot
Choose a permanent spot since the fleshy roots resent disturbance: sun, sandy acidic soil at pH 5.6–6.5, well drained, sheltered from strong wind; mulch 5–10 cm deep away from the trunk. In pots, move somewhere warm below 4 °C.
Light
Full sun to part shade, about 6–8 hours of sun; afternoon shade in intense summers to prevent leaf scorch. Frost-sensitive.
Watering
Moderate watering: water well then let the topsoil dry; about 25 mm a week outdoors; no tolerance for overwatering, long wetness causes rot.
Feeding
Young trees: 15-15-15 at most monthly in the growing season; mature trees take a milder feed (e.g. 7-9-5) or an organic acid-lover feed (6-4-4) late in the season; stop in the cold.
Pruning
Little pruning needed: prune lightly after flowering to keep a compact shape and encourage new buds; some sources prune in early spring before new growth.
Propagation
A sterile hybrid, so propagated by grafting or air layering; grafted plants may flower early while small. Seed is rarely used.
Pests and common problems
Few diseases; scale is most likely outdoors and mealybugs indoors; aphids also occur. It does not tolerate waterlogging.
For more flowers
For plentiful fragrant flowers: enough sun, acidic draining soil, moderate feeding, wind shelter and light pruning after bloom. Slim, richly scented white flowers open in several flushes a year.