Magnolia 'Genie' is without a doubt the most prestigious selection, to date, from the stable of revered New Zealand breeder Vance Hooper of Magnolia Grove, and has several accolades to boast about. 'Genie' is so-named for her magical qualities of: being an exceptionally good garden plant; being a reliable and floriferous flowerer; producing stunning deepest maroon blooms; and most importantly to Vance, being a good breeder. In fact, ‘Genie’ has formed the foundation of approximately 90% of all Vance’s breeding programs to date. It is these magical qualities that saw her win First Prize at the International Plant Fair (IPM) Essen, Germany, in 2011 and a prestigious KVBC Gold Medal Award from the Netherlands, in 2020. 'Genie' was also included in the Royal Horticultural Societies 'Coronation Collection' gifted to His Majesty King Charles 111 in March 2023.
‘Genie’ forms a narrow, compact, pyramidal tree, perfectly proportioned for smaller gardens and tight spaces. At 4-5m high by 2-2.5m wide on maturity, ‘Genie’ creates a beautiful vertical accent in the garden. She reports the changing seasons with a silhouette of bare winter branches studded with fat furry buds, morphing into blackish-maroon in early spring, then opening to the most voluptuous, goblet-shaped, deep maroon blooms by mid-spring. The firmly textured, lightly fragrant, blooms, last for at least ten weeks and are frost hardy. The outer edge of each tepal recurves slightly, presenting an outline of the paler inner colour, accentuating the perfect form and aesthetics of this most elegant flower.
By late spring, flowers fade and lush green foliage emerges. In mid to late summer, another smaller flush of flowers appears, perched like giant rubies amongst the large leathery leaves. Summer flowering is enhanced by a sunny location and regular deep watering over dry periods. Deep yellow autumn colour follows before leaves fall and her bare branches are exposed once again.
Little pruning is required, apart from removing damaged or dead branches and maybe lifting the crown to accommodate underplanting. Plant in a sheltered position, in moist free draining, fertile soils, with full sun for at least half the day. Deciduous.