If you mean Magnolia x soulangeana, that is supposedly hardy through zone 4 according to the Arbor Day Foundation. I believe you can get supplied through them. That is the one you see into a small to sometimes medium tree with the huge blossoms all over it in spring. There are definitely some gorgeous specimens as far north as Des Moines and Omaha. That is probably what you saw in Eau Claire.

The only hardier magnolias are the star group, which one sees in bloom all over the Twin Cities about now. But they are much smaller specimens, almost never reaching even very small tree size.

A word of caution: if you get a late killing frost when these trees are in bloom, you will have an ugly mess as all the flowers wilt into dark hanging clumps and then fall on your lawn. That is rare however.

Thanks, as I get older I seem to have (even) more trouble with word finding and substitutions, i.e. sauvolens for soulangeana

These northern saucer magnolias are marching northward as global warming moderates our winter cold much like the hybrid forsythias now bloom over the whole bush here in Minneapolis rather than just the former circle around the base from under the snow cover. I am not so sure this would be all that much of a gamble, although it will be some years before you end up with the full sized trees you were referring to.

OTOH The Arbor Day foundation has adopted one of the more northerly friendly hardiness maps based IIRC on the one from the Arnold Arboretum that Bush's Ag department rejected some years ago as showing too much effect of global warming. I tend to favor the one from the Arboretum and would point out that commercial nurseries like Stark's are more and more falling in line with that one, whether they actually adopt the newer hardiness zones or move their products into more northerly ones.

Will,

I'm in Saint Paul, MN and I have a Magnolia x soulangeana, Jane in my backyard. You might also search under they terms, "Saucer Magnolia" , "Tulip Tree" or "Japanese Magnolia Tree."

As Old Dutch said, a late frost can kill buds. But if this happens, deadhead the bud in Spring. Yes...know most say not to do this, but I do this and get recurring blooms.

Regarding sourcing, I did a quick search and as you said, don't see any in your area.

I did find some sellers on Amazon.com...but no way to know know what the quality is.

Nature Hills has them. And I can vouch that their quality is excellent. Or I'm happy to send you a cutting...just let me know!

Will, you might have been thinking of 'suaveolens' ('fragrant') in connection with a magnolia. Easy mistake to make, and quite forgivable in us older folks :-)

I have Jane and my aunt grows Ann. Hers reboots several times. They have a good selection at the friends school plant sale in minneapolis/st Paul mother's day weekend.