Magnolias Plant Directory

Magnolia 'Caerhays Surprise'
Magnolia campbellii ssp.
mollicomata x M.
liliiflora 'Nigra'
This is a deliberate cross made by Philip Tregunna, head gardener of Caerhays Castle, in 1959. It flowered for the first time in 1967.
AGM 2012
H5
Flowers: 9-12 narrow tepals, 20-25cm in diameter, soft lilac pink, deeper to to red-purple on the underside.
The first six tepals open fully into an open star-shape, the inner six tepals open gradually.
March into May.
It has a compact habit when grown in the open, and is fairly slow-growing, so is ideal for a medium sized garden.
The introduction of M. liliiflora into the breeding line
has made this hybrid more tolerant of hotter summers than M.campbellii
ssp. mollicomata.