The D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia, otherwise known as the Magnolia Grandiflora ‘D.D. Blanchard’ is a pretty well known shrub plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and fast growth, this shrub will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, this is exactly what we’ll cover in this D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia Care Guide. So let’s dive in.
In order to take proper care of your D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia you’ll need to keep in mind the following guidelines:
- Water: The D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia needs evenly spread moist soil – try to avoid letting the soil dry out.
- Light: Keep your Magnolia Grandiflora ‘D.D. Blanchard’ in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of sand, loam, and clay.
And that’s practically it! If you keep these three factors in check, your D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia will likely have all it needs for it to survive and even thrive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia belongs to the Magnoliaceae family, and the genus Magnolia, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Magnolia Grandiflora ‘D.D. Blanchard’ (mag-NOH-lee-uh gran-dih-FLOR-uh).
As with other Magnolia’s, the D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia is an evergreen plant, which means it will be present year round in your garden.
Growing Region
The D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia is a plant native to the Asia and Eastern U.S..
Knowing your plant’s native region is very useful, as it can give you tips on which environment is best for your D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia. If you keep it in mind, you can try to replicate these conditions at home, and you’ll likely end with a healthier plant.
With this in mind, the Magnolia Grandiflora ‘D.D. Blanchard’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 5 – 9 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 5a, 5b, 6b, 6a, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9b, 9a and the ideal climate zone is between 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia is a relatively fast grower, which makes things tricky for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, what size of D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia are we talking about? What can you expect in terms of height, spread and spacing? Let’s dig in…
The Magnolia Grandiflora ‘D.D. Blanchard’ can grow up to 8′ – 15′ (240cm – 4.5m) in 8′ – 15′ (240cm – 4.5m) and 6′ – 15′ (180cm – 4.5m) in 6′ – 15′ (180cm – 4.5m).
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful pyramidal shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
Water
In terms of watering, the D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat irregular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Magnolia Grandiflora ‘D.D. Blanchard’ needs evenly spread moist soil – try to avoid letting the soil dry out.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
But, if you want a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to watering your D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia then you should consider the famous ‘finger’ test. To perform this test, you just need to put your finger in your plant’s soil and determine if it’s moist or not. If it is, then don’t water; if it isn’t, then please do. In any case, this test will allow you to know if your D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia needs or does not need water, every time.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia prefers to have soil with good drainage properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of sand, loam, and clay.
This is why most experts agree that the D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia requires soil with high organic matter, and loam (silt), which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably neutral to acid soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this shrub will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Magnolia Grandiflora ‘D.D. Blanchard’ in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being an evergreen plant, the D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia will be present year round in your garden.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (early).
Flowers
You can expect your D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia to flower around the winter and in the spring months from January to March (winter) and from April to June (spring).
In particular, this shrub is well known for its fragrant, flowers for cutting and showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia produces some beautiful white, or white flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a alternate organization in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Magnolia Grandiflora ‘D.D. Blanchard’ to be around (3-6 inches) in size.
The D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia is well known for being able to attract butterflies and birds, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.
Garden
How should you then organize your garden to include your new D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia? Here are some recommendations by expert gardeners.
Most Magnolia Grandiflora ‘D.D. Blanchard’ owners agree that this shrub will look great in most cottage gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage, city and courtyard, and in traditional garden styles.
In particular, the D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia’s best location within your garden is in beds and borders, others use it for landscaping in a firescaping/fire wise, coastal exposure, cutting garden, or a very wet areas.
Companion Plants
D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Liquidambar styraciflua FestivalTM, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Pistacia chinensis will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
And we’ve come to an end. Fortunately, that’s everything you need to know about your D.D. Blanchard Southern Magnolia to keep it safe and sound in your garden or home. Enjoy planting!
