Gardeners who prefer small magnolia trees or at least smaller magnolia tree leaves should try the relatively Lilliputian lily type, which tops off at 12 feet tall, its 3- to 6-inch purple-backed ...

Pruned as a tree or shrub, it grows at a moderate rate ... Back in the 1950s, two breeders at the U.S. National Arboretum crossed lily magnolia (Magnolia liliflora) with star magnolia (M.