Loebner's Magnolia can grow to 50 feet. Fragrant white flowers 3-4 inches across, made up of 15 segments appear in late winter - early spring (this tree is flowering on April 5th, near Chicago), before leaves emerge. Grows best in moist, well-drained soil rich in humus. Prefers acidic to neutral soil in full sun or partial shade. [1] Cultivar 'Merrill' (pictured here) is a vigorous, compact tree with broader leaves than most star magnolias.

Magnolias have long been known and used in China. References to their medicinal qualities go back to as early as 1083. After the Spanish conquest of Mexico, Philip II commissioned his court physician Francisco Hernandez in 1570 to undertake a scientific expedition. Hernandez made numerous descriptions of plants, accompanied by drawings, but publication was delayed and hampered by a series of accidents. Between 1629 and 1651 the material was re-edited by members of the Accademia dei Lincei and issued (1651) in three editions as Nova plantarum historia Mexicana.

This work contains a drawing of a plant under the vernacular name Eloxochitl, that is most likely Magnolia macrophylla subsp. dealbata. It is possibly the first-ever description of a Magnolia that was seen in the Western World. It is unclear whether there are early descriptions made by English or French missionaries who were sent to North America, but the first introduction of a Magnolia into Europe is well documented. It was the missionary and plant collector John Banister (1654-1693) who sent back Laurus tulipifera, foliis subtus ex cinereo aut argenteo purpurascentibus from Virginia in 1688, to Henry Compton, the Bishop of London. This species is now known as Magnolia virginiana (Sweetbay magnolia). Thus, a plant collector had shipped the first Magnolia from North America to Europe before Charles Plumier discovered his Talauma on Martinique and gave it the name Magnolia.
--from Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

1. Colin Tudge, The Tree: A Natural History of What Trees Are, How They Live, and Why They Matter, Reprint (Three Rivers Press, 2007).
2. NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY, National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees--E: Eastern Region, Chanticleer Press Ed (Knopf, 1980).
3. Merril Loebner's Magnolia, Morton Arboretum acc. 420-2005*1 photographed 04-05-2010 by Bruce Marlin