WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Magnolia denudata, WUCOLS IV

How often to water Yulan magnolia in California

In July on the north-central coast, established Yulan magnolia in loam needs a deep watering about every 13 days: about 55 gallons each time under a 10 foot canopy, about 29 gallons a week. Yulan magnolia is a deciduous tree from eastern and southern China, prized there for more than a thousand years. In late winter or early spring, before the leaves appear, it covers its bare branches with large, upright, creamy-white flowers with a lemony scent. It grows slowly to 30 to 40 feet tall and wide, often with several stems.

TreeRated for 2 of 6 zones

How often to water Yulan magnolia, month by month

Your city
Canopy width
10 ft
Your soil

Type your city above and the days between waterings and the gallons appear here, worked out from your city's climate table. Or read the figures by climate zone further down.

Every month, on your water days. The personal plan prints this for Yulan magnolia and the rest of your yard, on the days your water supplier allows.Get the plan for $19

How this is worked out: established roots fill the top 1.5 feet of soil, and you water again when that soil has dried halfway. Loam soil holds about 1.5 inches of water per foot. Water the whole area under the branches, and skip a watering after a good soaking rain.

Which soil do you have?

Dig down a few inches, take a handful of moist soil and squeeze it.

  • Sandy: gritty, falls apart when you open your hand, will not form a ball.
  • Loam: forms a soft ball that crumbles when you poke it.
  • Clay: forms a firm, sticky ball and squeezes out into a ribbon between thumb and finger.

Still not sure? Pick loam. Most garden beds sit between sand and clay.

How to measure canopy width

A tree with its canopy width marked across the widest branches and the circle under it shaded blue

Measure across the branches, from the tips of the outer leaves on one side to the tips on the other. A tape works, or pace it out.

Water the whole circle under the branches, shown in blue. The gallons here cover that circle.

A wider canopy means more gallons each watering, not more waterings. While the tree is young, measure again each spring.

How to tell it needs water

  • Leaves wilting or browning at the edges in a summer dry spell show stress, since it does not tolerate very dry soil
  • If a trowel finds dry soil 3 or 4 inches down beneath the branches in summer, the tree is ready for a slow soak
  • Yellowing leaves and decline in ground that stays wet point to waterlogged roots, which it does not tolerate
  • Browned petals after a cold night are late frost damage, not thirst
  • Gray mold on buds or petals in damp weather is a fungal problem rather than a watering issue

How to water it

  • Lay a soaker in a ring at the drip line and run it until the soil is moist 12 inches deep
  • Keep the soil evenly moist through summer, never bone dry and never soggy
  • Plant in moist, well-drained, slightly acid loam rich in organic matter, in sun or part shade
  • Choose a spot sheltered from winter winds
  • Prune, if needed, right after flowering

Through the seasons

Keep a young tree evenly moist through its first summers while roots spread. Flowers open on bare wood in late winter or early spring, and a late frost can brown them. Leaves follow, and cone-like fruits split to show red seeds by late summer or early fall. Summer is when steady water matters most. Winter rain usually covers the bare tree on the coast. Yulan magnolia carries a moderate water rating from WUCOLS on the north-central coast and on the south coast. WUCOLS has not evaluated it for the Central Valley, South Inland, the high desert or the low desert.

In pots

Yulan magnolia grows slowly, so a young tree can live in a large container for a few years before planting out. Fill a deep pot that has drainage holes with an organically rich, slightly acid mix. Through summer, feel the mix every couple of days and water before the top inch dries. Let excess water escape, then empty the saucer. Move the pot to shelter when a hard frost threatens the buds.

1 Your climate zone six WUCOLS zones, each from its own reference city
Not ratedWUCOLS does not rate Yulan Magnolia for the Central Valley zone
A year
no figure
Reference
Sacramento climate table
Counts
Plant need, before sprinkler losses

WUCOLS lists Yulan Magnolia as not evaluated for the Central Valley zone, so no monthly figure is computed here.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Yulan Magnolia: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.37–0.78–––
Feb0.53–0.81–––
Mar0.87–1.15–––
Apr1.18–1.4–––
May1.46–1.61–––
Jun1.61–1.74–––
Jul1.61–1.98–––
Aug1.49–1.86–––
Sep1.24–1.49–––
Oct0.87–1.15–––
Nov0.47–0.84–––
Dec0.31–0.65–––
Year12–15.5–––

How this is worked out: the WUCOLS water rating for each zone times that zone’s climate for the month. A dash means WUCOLS does not rate the plant there. The figures are what the plant uses, before sprinkler losses.

Plants with the same water needs 16

Rated not evaluated in the Central Valley, like Yulan magnolia. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

Hawthorn MapleAcer crataegifoliumnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingMountain MapleAcer glabrumnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingMiyabe MapleAcer miyabeinot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingEverglades PalmAcoelorraphe wrightiinot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingPink CedarAcrocarpus fraxinifoliusnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingYellowwoodAfrocarpus falcatus (Podocarpus falcatus)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingNew Caledonian PineAraucaria columnaris (A. cookii)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingFormosa Sugar PalmArenga englerinot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingNeemAzadirachta indicanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingBismarck PalmBismarckia nobilisnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingAmerican HornbeamCarpinus caroliniananot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingJapanese HornbeamCarpinus japonicanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingAmerican YellowwoodCladrastis kentukeanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingPagoda DogwoodCornus alternifolianot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingGiant DogwoodCornus controversanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingButterfly PalmDypsis lutescens (Areca)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley rating
Minutes for your sprinklers

Turn this into minutes on your water days

Every city page has a calculator that takes Yulan magnolia, your sprinkler type and the month, and gives the minutes per water day for that supplier's schedule. Or put it in a zone of the personal watering plan and get all twelve months printed.

Questions people ask

How much water does Yulan magnolia need per day?

In July on the north-central coast, established Yulan magnolia needs about 4.1 gallons a day under a 10 foot canopy and about 16 gallons a day under a 20 foot canopy. Give it in deep waterings spread days apart rather than a little every day, so the whole root zone gets wet.

Does watering for Yulan magnolia change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates Yulan magnolia separately for each of the six California climate zones: moderate water in the North-Central Coastal zone, not evaluated in the Central Valley zone, moderate water in the South Coastal zone, not evaluated in the South Inland zone, not evaluated in the High and Intermediate Desert zone, not evaluated in the Low Desert zone. The monthly table above shows how the same rating translates into different gallon amounts as reference evapotranspiration changes.

When does Yulan magnolia bloom?

Bloom comes at the tail end of winter or the start of spring, on bare wood. Each upright flower is creamy white and lemon scented.

Is Yulan magnolia related to saucer magnolia?

Yes. Yulan magnolia is one of the parents of saucer magnolia and many other hybrids. It was also the first Asian magnolia brought to the West.

Why did my magnolia flowers turn brown?

Late frost often browns the early blooms. A site sheltered from cold winds helps, though a hard freeze can still damage open flowers.

When should I prune Yulan magnolia?

If pruning is needed, do it right after flowering. It rarely needs much shaping.

Can you overwater Yulan magnolia?

Yes. It is intolerant of both very wet and very dry soil. Keep the soil evenly moist but well drained.

More plant watering guides

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Sources