I'm 6b and my Magnolia grandiflora 'Bracken's Brown Beauty' browned pretty good this winter. Now it was it's first season in the ground but I think z5 would be too much to handle for a southern magnolia. Magnolia virginiana is said to be evergreen in the south but mine drops its leaves every fall.

I'm in zone 5b/6a Springfield IL (the city literally sits on both zones according to the map) so we are a cold zone 6a or a warm 5b I guess. Anyway, I have Brackens Brown Beauty and Edith Bogue. I have seen Little Gems and D D Blanchards here as well.

2 winters ago both my EB and BBB lost almost all their leaves and the BBB had a few small branches die. They both recovered and look perfect now. Last year was also a pretty bad winter here but both Southern Mags did much better. The EB got a little burnt, the BBB was very burned but they both lost very few leaves.

What about Little Gem and DD Blanchard 2 winters ago? All Little Gems that I know of were killed here. Of the 3 DD Blanchards I know of only one came out looking o.k. The others had so much wood die back that they should be cut down. The one that survived doesn't look great but it might recover.

From what I've heard, the first 3 years are important in getting them established. My advice is to water daily the first year. I mulched heavily the first 3 years and used Wilt Proof the first 2 years. The 3rd year I did not, which is when the winter 2 years ago occurred. I wonder if they would have faired better had I used Wilt proof. Spring planting is also recommended. It is also recommended to plant it were it will be protected from North and west winds, or from winter sun. Mine are protected from neither, but maybe they should be in case we get colder temps someday.

All that said, I was looking through weather undergrounds historical temps for Springfield. In 1983 we had about 22 days below 32 degrees and some days below zero the entire day. I have to wonder if the southern mags would even survive that. So I suppose it's possible that Southern Magnolias aren't bullet proof here, but I have yet to see a winter that has killed mine.

I have seen some BBBs here that don't look so hot. I don't know if they weren't watered well or if they were less hardy than other BBBs. So I think if you lose one, it is worth trying again.

Thanks for all that info!

Hope it helps and good luck!

Zone 5 We have 2 BBB and other browned out 1st year both doing great year 3