I am not sure about the named varieties but there are some magnolia cultivars that will grow and bloom here. They usually bloom very early in the spring but don't bloom very long if I am not mistaken. Usually a windy spring will blow the blossoms off early. When I first moved up here I wanted to grow a magnolia like the ones we had back home but those big southern magnolias I don't think will make it up here.

Crape Myrtle will also grow here. I don't know of anyone that grows figs up here and Mokey Puzzle tree I am not familiar with.
Penny

I have heard of people growing fig trees in upstate NY, I think I read about someone in the Niagara Falls area. In the fall he digs a trench and lays the tree down into it and covers it with soil. It was quite a while ago that I read about this.
I just bought a Crape Myrtle last fall and planted it in September so I am quite anxious to see if it took. I will look for the hang tag and let you know what variety it was. It was suppose to be rated to -10 degrees. I'm hoping it will grow.

I just acquired a fig tree this past spring. Since it was still small, I've left it potted and moved it to an unheated florida room where a gardenia usually manages quite well. Not sure how it will do. But I have heard of people in the area (Amherst, city of Buffalo) who have fig trees that are actually hardy enough to live all year round in the ground. I think the Amherst fig tree gets cut down each year (they hate it)and it just keeps coming back from the root.

My grandfather, who was from Italy and moved to Buffalo, used to dig a trench and bury his fig each winter and had success.

Hello Upstate Gardeners again -

The postings so far are interesting.
I have on order 2 Celeste Tennessee Mountain Figs. They are reported to have endured - 10 degrees in Tennessee.
I have a Southern Magnolia cultivar that was sent as a mistake due to an order for Magnolia macrophylla. The nursery that sent it was Appalachian Gardens before they went wholesale around 10 years ago. Any one ever order from them?
I grew the tree in a pot for a couple of years, then I learned about hardy culivars so I planted it outside. I figured why not as the nursery is located in Waynesboro, PA near the Poconos. There is a hardy Southern Magnolia cultivar called  PoconosÂ. It has long, leaves with light green tomentum on the undersides. I have since contacted Appalachian Nursery, to no response to what cultivar it may be...
It is completely covered with snow, the tree itself is about 4 feet tall.
I also have on order from Forest Farm Nursery - 1 ÂEdith Bogue and 1 Bracken s Brown Beauty Southern Magnolia.
I had a Bracken s Brown Beauty Southern Magnolia from Carroll Gardens. It grew good for two years, then the bottom graft died and the tree slowly declined and died.
I have grown Musa basjoo - Japanese Fiber Banana for 3 years. I have it located next to my house foundation that faces south. Also in my yard are Magnolia tripetala, hypoleuca, asheii, red, pink & white dogwood trees
Thank you
Gerry
Hamburg, NY

I grew monkey puzzle tree as a houseplant. After 3 years, it died, although everyone loved it, it was so unusual. They are definitely not hardy here. I bought mine from Beaver Meadow Nursery in North Java.

I recently bought a house in the Albany, NY area.. there is a large, flowering tree growing here, that I'm told is a Flowering Magnolia Tree. I wasn't aware that these trees survived much above the Mason-Dixon Line, but this tree has been here for many years! would like information as to what kind of tree it is!

Larry, there are a LOT of different Magnolia species! Many are deciduous and many others are evergreen. There are some that are even intermediate (semi-deciduous/evergreen). Your tree appears to be deciduous but in order to get the species, you really need a close up if the flower. I know that the most common 'Northern', deciduous Magnolias around me are Magnolia stellata (Star Magnolia from Japan with fragrant, white flowers in March or April), and the Tulip Magnolia with larger pink/white flowers (also early April--here) The Northern/deciduous one are probably hardy into Zone 5 if not lower, but many would suffer flower loss in colder zones as these normally bloom in early Spring when frost may still occur. (Yours kind of reminds me of my stellata.) In the South, the evergreen ones tend to dominate but both can be grown. The evergreen ones are cold hardy to Zone 7 (maybe 6b). I am a bit of a Magnolia nut so I grow lots of different varieties. The evergreen one in the photo is Magnolia grandiflora 'Victoria'. It blooms in June-August and the flowers are fragrant, white up to 10 inches in diameter. BTW, you don't escape raking with the 'evergreen' ones, while the Northern one drop their leaves in the Fall, the Southern ones drop up to 20% of their leaves in May--as the new growth emerges for the season. Good luck with your Magnolia--they are all special trees!

My tree bloomed shortly after the closing, but I was too preoccupied with moving in to take any pix's. Now, the tree is setting buds, and, appears that it will bloom again this season. (It's been a very WET summer, which probably triggered the second blooming) so, in a few weeks, with pix of the blossoms, perhaps someone can identify the tree for me!!

Close-up of the buds the tree is setting.. won't be long B4 it blooms!

Pix of the buds..

The Star Magnolia does not flower after the Spring, the Saucer (or Tulip Magnolia) will flower lightly later in the Summer but not nearly as heavily as the Spring bloom. Those leaves are similar to both Saucer and Star Magnolia (maybe someone else can distinguish these by leaf alone).

This post was edited by njoasis on Mon, Jul 15, 13 at 8:08

I bought a few crepe myrtles last year. They bloomed that first year and came back this spring from the ground or close to it and got about 4 feet tall, but did not bloom this year. If it doesn't bloom this year they are getting yanked.