After reading my original message I realized I've left a bit of important information out. The flower bed where I'll be planting these are in full sun and measures 8.5' wide and 48.5' long. As stated, planting the two alexandrinas in each corner of that bed. My thought now on the other three is the Betty, Ann & Jane with the Betty in the middle and the Jane and Ann on each side of the Betty. Think that'll be a good combination or do you think another variety would fit better? I'm new to the magnolias and have only been looking in to them for a few weeks, so any inputs are much appreciated.

This post was edited by Evolved on Fri, May 10, 13 at 14:26

Do you have a lot of other real estate to plant? Otherwise, that's a lot of magnolias for an averaged size garden.....many would consider your plant selection to be overly magnolia-heavy :-)) And remember that your three 'girls' tend to be more shrubby than tree-like, so their presence will reduce the ability to fill in with many other plantings. At a conservative estimate, you are looking at some 60' of mature spread, which doesn't leave you much space to fill in with anything else.

I'd maybe select one more, smaller magnolia if you must and then fill in with something that offers an interest in other seasons or select a different small tree altogther and an assortment of shrubs and perennials to compliment them all.

An 8' deep bed will contain the smallest-growing kinds - for a time. It will never be deep enough to hold an 'Alexandrina', let alone two of them. Your concept of how big these get is simply not in line with the actual situation, you need to be looking at smaller-growing types of trees and shrubs for the space you are talking about.

Unless you are planting for shorter term effect, do not care about leaving behind a thicket of bulging specimens crammed into a too small bed.

Decided to go with only two additional magnolias, the Ann and Jane for a total of 4. The flower bed is placed at the backend of the property which opens up to a horse field. Athough the flower bed only measures 8' deep, there is an additional 10' of our yard beyond that which slopes down a bit, so there's plenty of space for the trees to grow. I do however have arborvitae planted behind the trees, but plan on training the trees to grow up rather than out, will see how that works out.

What if you plant those magnolias BEHIND the arborvitae trees?

This post was edited by ttonk on Mon, May 13, 13 at 11:47

It looks like it wouldn't be much trouble to widen the bed to increase your plant choices.
Mike

If I planted behind the arborvitae then it would be years before I could enjoy them from the backyard. Yes, the beds could be extended if needed.

And they will be, trust me!!

Have you seen any of these trees in their mature form?

This is 'Alexandrina':

{{gwi:360945}}

This post was edited by gardengal48 on Tue, May 14, 13 at 17:02

help...I am trying to decide between a Jane and an Ann, since you went with both could you help me decide?

Good comparison article - Ann Magnolia vs Jane Magnolia Tree: Who Blooms Better?