As far as identification is concerned if it were mine I'd pick samples for comparison, put them in water and take them to places where the same kind might be in bloom, with labeling.

based on his fact scenario .... there might not be any for hundreds of miles ... lol ...

those are some gorgeous pix... considering the full sun ... was it with an actual camera.. rather than a gizmo?

ken

"...there might not be any for hundreds of miles..."

Exactly. I wouldn't know where to look for a yellow-flowering magnolia in this area. Seattle it isn't, but I do appreciate the suggestion. Maybe someone from the Twin Cities can point me in the right direction.

BTW, these were taken with my phone. I may have got lucky with the lighting, but what you see is what I got. :)

This pic is Abies koreana 'Silberlocke'. It's generally listed as z5, but I wouldn't hesitate to plant it in z4. A seedling I've got also came through unscathed.

You talk about them in the OP as if you bought them locally. Like maybe even a regional garden center that might have more of them on display right now.

Of course, when all potentially relevant points are spelled out at the start then posters don't have to be annoyed afterward by responses that seem to them ridiculously inapt.

And those making such silly suggestions have not wasted their own time in doing so.

Ridiculously inapt?? I get it, you're really, really annoyed, but I sincerely appreciated the suggestion. The only yellow-flowered magnolia I can recall seeing was Elizabeth, which I am fairly certain this one is not.

I purchased it from a small, rural nursery dba: Read's Creek Nursery, which is roughly 120 miles south of me. This was a no frills retail nursery that carried an unusual variety of woody plants, especially considering its isolated location. It has been closed for several years now, and maybe they did have a yellow flowering magnolia on the grounds. I don't recall seeing one, but I can't say it wasn't there.

I take it, Embothrium, you see yellow-flowered magnolias on a fairly regular basis. Yes? Which one would you venture mine is?

Embothrium, what on earth are you ranting about?

Looks a lot like my Yellow Bird, , so if you didn't buy any other yellow varieties at the same time, I would venture it is Yellow Bird. I can't remember where I bought mine, but it was an Iowa City area (zone 5) spring time sale, about 12 or so years ago. It isn't as early as some of my others mags, and usually has some green foliage at the same time it blooms, just like yours. Mine just finished blooming for the year, and the showiness gets better every year, so enjoy!

Hi, Jon. I purchased three yellow-flowering magnolias at the same time. I was in a state of garden mania. I’m encouraged by your experience and look forward to future spring blooms. It supposedly gets to 40’, but I doubt it will reach that here. On the other hand, it has become vigorous the past few years and maybe it will surprise me again. :)

BTW, I used to get to Iowa City once or twice a year for my job, but I’ve recently retired. It’s a very nice small city and I miss it.

If you can get to an arboretum you may find labeled yellow magnolias. For instance, I was in the arboretum in Madison WI this week and they had at least 4 labeled yellow magnoliasin bloom. Is there an arboretum anywhere in the Twin Cities area? It might not be too late now.

NHBabs, lucky you. How did the gardens look? It has been a few years since I've last walked Longenecker. I need to get back there!

There are no arboretums within 100 miles, but the Minnesota Landscape Arb is slightly more than a two-hour drive. It's a good idea. I do have some contacts over there and should mention this tree. I suspect it could be identified easy enough if I would pursue it a bit more diligently.

When I was working, I spent about a quarter of my life in the Twin Cities and would get to the MN Arb twice a year. It was odd how my last appointment so often ended up in the far west suburbs. ;)

We wandered through magnolias and crabapples which were lovely as well as evergreens some of which seemed to have had a tough winter, though some looked great. We spent a fair amount of times in the woods enjoying ephemerals and the trees leafing out. I also spent a afternoon at Olbrich Gardens which has a wonderful selection of woodland wildflowers, as well as many different, mostly nonnative woodies.

Nice to hear. Lots to do in Madison. :)

The magnolia collection at the U of Minn is not one of their more impressive plantings. There are some nice specimens, but I don't recall seeing any yellow-flowering trees.

It may have been irrational exuberance on my part when I started this. Garden surprises are not always good, and I'm afraid the losses were heavier than what I originally estimated. I think I may have lost a few well-established trees. It seemed they were on the verge of leafing out, but it now seems they are in some sort of limbo. I'm wishing and a hoping they fully leaf out once it warms up to normal spring temps, but a certain resignation is setting in.

When the leaves start to emerge but stops, it might be a sign of roots destroyed by frost

I hope that things recover. By now I try not to add borderline woodies since it is tough to have a well-grown tree lose half its mass in a bad winter. I haven’t yet removed my Kousa dogwood or Acer shirasawanum ‘Jordan’, but both have a tough time in my winters and so have had significant dieback some winters.

”By now I try not to add borderline woodies since it is tough to have a well-grown tree lose half its mass in a bad winter.”

I agree with that. Two trees that have not yet leafed out are Nyssa sylvatica and Acer ‘North Wind’, which is a Japanese x Korean hybrid. Both are borderline, but the latter will be a bitter loss to take. On the other hand, this past winter was one for the record books and I’m trying not to overreact, which means I’ll likely buy more marginal trees. ;)

I lost a northern pin oak and a sienna glen maple. it distressed me, but i’m over it. Oh well

You may want to look up the magnolia Butterflies. That's what I thought of when I saw your photo. I have one and it has proven to be winter hardy here.

Lane, did you plant the Northern Pin? Are they indigenous to where you live? It will never rival the other oaks native to these parts, but it is the dominant oak on my speck of earth. It makes for a very nice tree.

The sales receipt only says ‘Three Magnolias’, but I’m close to certain that none were Butterflies. I’m basing this on my memory, which is not really something I should be basing anything on.

I’d agree it’s not Elizabeth as she has a softer yellow. If I had to guess I’d go with Yellow Bird.

i have a few trees that are hanging on by a thread like Acer Shaved Chocolate and Tulip Tree But not too bad otherwise. Cornus kousa and Katsura where the only ones to die outright. The the last of my Blue Magoo fried beyond recognition yet Pinus Goldilocks near it burned very little.

If your North Wind doesn’t make it I’d give it another shot. I’ve only seen minor damage during the worst of winters (same with Arctic Jade).

Red is just starting to fade.

Will, I actually have two North Wind and one came through with only minor tip die back. It's the larger and more established tree that looks to be dead. If so, I'd like to replace it with Ice Dragon. Do you have this one?

Nikko Maple (A. maximowiczianum) suffered some die back, but not extensive, while A. mandschuricum looks perfect. My two Viburnum nudum (Winterthur and Brandywine) are both dead. BTW, I've given up on Katsura.

I just got an Ice Dragon this spring. Damn things are hard to find for some reason.

I've had issues in the past with Brandywine in the past and just realized this one is zone 5. Lil Ditty is apparently hardy to zone 3. Not sure if it gets fall color but one to check out if it does.

Too bad on the larger North Wind. Nice that you have another one without major damage.

How did your Stewartia and Corylus fargesii do?

What kind of plant is Ice Dragon, whaas?

Something every zone 4 and 5 gardener should have! Little odd that Spring Hill Nursery has them online.

https://www.iselinursery.com/garden-maples/acer-x-pseudosieboldianum-hardy-hybrid-maple/acer-x-pseudosieboldianum-ice-dragon/

I believe Pennlake has a nice sized specimen on this forum. Local nursery has a #10 for $700...what a deal!

“Local nursery has a #10 for $700...”

Wow, is there a black market for Ice Dragon? That seems crazy expensive.

The Corylus came through without a hint of trouble. It really is the surprise tree for me. Hardy and vigorous. The Stewartia leafed out fine, but something doesn’t seem quite right. It just looks a bit sparse, almost as if the leaves are undersized. It’s still early and it could be much ado about nothing, but I doubt it will flower.

Ive got a smaller Stewartia that came from a different source and it looks like it died above the snow line. They have a tendency to leaf out from the bottom up, and I still have some hope the top isn’t completely dead. I’m trying to be an optimist...

No native oaks here period. Yes, I planted it four years ago. I gave it a try because it is zone hardy.. supposedly. It was growing perfectly, but we had a flash freeze in early Oct after a record warm Sept. I'm guessing that's what did it in. You win some, you lose some.

#15 is over $1K!

good to hear on the corylus. I’ve been looking for awhile now and have wondered about its hardiness as to whether I should continue to look