Elizabeth Magnolia (Magnolia 'Elizabeth') - yellow flowers, illustrated plant cardIllustration

Elizabeth Magnolia

Magnolia 'Elizabeth'

Also called hybrid cucumber tree magnolia

Elizabeth Magnolia blooms from March through April.

Bloom calendar
Bloom time
Mar–Apr
checked
Hardiness
Zones 5–8
checked
Sun
Full sun
checked
Water
Moderate water
checked
Mature size
33 ft × 18 ft
checked
Type
Tree
house classification

Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.

Growing Elizabeth Magnolia

Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 5–8. Expect it to reach about 33 ft tall and 18 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 12 years (a house reading).

Pets

Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.

No toxicity note is on file for Elizabeth Magnolia. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.

Verification
What was checked

Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.

See the 10 sources it was checked against

When to plant Elizabeth Magnolia

Plant Elizabeth Magnolia in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 6, the middle of its hardy zones 5 to 8, spring means March to May and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms from March to April.

Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.

How big does Elizabeth Magnolia get?

Illustration of Elizabeth Magnolia drawn to scale beside an adult33 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult18 ftwide
About 33 ft tall and 18 ft wide at maturity: about 6 times as tall as an adult.

See Elizabeth Magnolia in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.

How far apart to plant Elizabeth Magnolia

Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.

Give Elizabeth Magnolia about 18 ft of clear ground in every direction, measured from its center. It is one plant with room around it, not a row, and a raised bed is too small for it.

Clear ground around it
18 ft in every direction

Add Elizabeth Magnolia to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.

Where these facts come from

Elizabeth Magnolia's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags were checked against 10 published sources on October 21, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.

  • Plant Addictsheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
  • Missouri Botanical GardenPlant Finderheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water and bloom months and color
  • The Morton Arboretumheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and bloom months and color
  • Chicago Botanic GardenPlant Finderhardiness zones, sun, bloom months and color and trait tags
  • RHSRoyal Horticultural Societyheight, spread, water and bloom months and color
  • vdberk.comVan den Berk Nurseriesheight, spread and bloom months and color
  • bbg.orgBrooklyn Botanic Gardenbloom months and color and trait tags
  • bbg.orgBrooklyn Botanic Gardenbloom months and color
  • NC State ExtensionPlant Toolboxbloom months and color
  • NC State ExtensionPlant Toolboxsun

How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.

The Magnolia group

One of 14 in the Magnolia group. Same genus, similar care.

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Design a garden with this

Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.

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