Port Wine Magnolia

Port Wine Magnolia (Magnolia figo, syn. Michelia figo) is the hedge you plant for your nose. The small cream and burgundy flowers hide among the glossy leaves in spring, but their perfume, somewhere between port wine and bubblegum, drifts across a whole garden on warm days. It builds slowly into a dense evergreen shrub about 3m tall and 2.5m wide.

Why you'll love it

• The famous perfume. A scent people stop and ask about, strongest on warm spring days, from flowers you often cannot even see.
• A naturally dense hedge. Glossy foliage to the ground with a fine, twiggy habit that closes into a solid green wall.
• Slow growth is the feature. It stays where you put it, and one or two light trims a year hold a crisp shape.
• Happy in humidity and wind. Comfortable through steamy coastal summers where cool climate hedging sulks.
• Shapes beautifully. Takes clipping into formal hedges, domes and standards, and bees still find the flowers you leave.

Where it works best

Hedging and screening. Plant 1m apart for a dense hedge held anywhere between 1.5m and 3m. Because it grows slowly, start with the largest plants your budget allows if privacy is urgent.

Near doors, windows and paths. Position a feature shrub where the perfume gets caught: beside an entry, under a window that opens, along the walk to the washing line.

Pots and topiary. Its slow, dense habit is ideal in large containers, clipped as balls or standards flanking a doorway, and repotting stays an occasional job.

Growing port wine magnolia in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun to part shade, with flowering heaviest at half a day of sun or more. It thrives in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate gardens. It handles light frost only, so in colder districts give it a warm sheltered position or grow it in a pot you can move.

Soil. Rich, slightly acidic and well drained, with compost through the planting hole and a 50mm to 75mm mulch layer kept off the stems.

Water and feed. Steady moisture through the first two summers, then normal garden watering. Feed in spring after flowering with a complete fertiliser suited to camellias and magnolias.

Pruning. Trim just after the spring flowering so you never cut away next year's buds. A clipped shape then holds for months.

What to expect when it arrives

We grow Port Wine Magnolia in nine sizes, from tubes and multi packs (140mm by 10, 180mm and 200mm by 6, 250mm by 3) through single 300mm and 400mm pots up to advanced 25L and 45L stock. Tubes suit patient gardeners and long runs; with a slow plant like this, the 300mm and larger sizes are worth the extra for a hedge, and the 45L plants arrive with real bulk.

Orders are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost, and every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Read the complete guide to magnolia care in Australia.
• Browse the full magnolia collection.
• For a taller screening michelia, see Magnolia 'Inspiration'.
• Compare other hedging and screening plants.

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a hedge?

1m apart in a single row. The plants knit slowly but surely into a continuous wall; planting closer changes nothing except the invoice.

How slow is slow?

Roughly 20cm to 30cm a year in good conditions. That is the trade: less privacy in year one, far less pruning ever after.

When does it flower and how long does the scent last?

Through spring, with scattered blooms into early summer in warm gardens. The perfume comes in waves on warm days over several weeks.

Will it grow in a pot long term?

Yes, better than most hedge shrubs. Use a 500mm or wider container with premium mix, water consistently and expect it to hold at around 2m with an annual trim.

Does it handle frost?

Light frost only. Established plants take an occasional light frost in shelter; repeated hard frosts burn the foliage and can kill young plants.