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Botanical Name: Magnolia ×kewensis ‘Wada’s Memory’
Common Name: Wada’s Memory Magnolia
Campus: Kendal
Notable Feature: Very floriferous and one of the best early flowering magnolia trees; it has excellent vigor and flowers at a young age. ‘Wada’s Memory’ was selected by the University of Washington Arboretum and named in honor of Japanese nurseryman, Koichiro Wada.
Habit: A small to medium-sized tree, single or multistemmed that retains a compact, conical habit. Grows vigorously, upright initially, later forming a broader spreading tree. Matures to a height of 40 feet high and 30 feet wide. Hardy in Zones 5-8.
Foliage: Deciduous, dark green, oblong to elliptic in shape, 5” long and 2 ¼” wide. Young leaves are mahogany red in color becoming green as they mature, turning a butter-yellow in fall.
Flower: White, upward facing and tulip-shaped, 7” across, and composed of 6 long petal-like tepals. The tepals open horizontally and then suddenly reflex (droop) at the tips, making for a startling yet dramatic display. Flowers before the leaves unfurl in early spring.
Interesting Fact: A magnificent tree can be seen on the grounds of Winterthur Museum in Wilmington, DE. Planted in 1983, it is over 40 feet high and 20 feet wide. The hybrid Magnolia ×kewensis is a cross between two Japanese magnolias, the Kobus Magnolia (Magnolia kobus) and the Anise Magnolia (Magnolia salicifolia) bred at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, England, in 1938.