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What Hardiness Zone Is Central Pennsylvania for Growing Magnolia Trees?

Central Pennsylvania's dominant physical features are the long ranges and ridges of the Appalachian Mountains, always covered in dense forests. The region has four distinct seasons, with winters getting progressively colder as the elevation rises and winds are not blocked by trees. Magnolias are among the most ornamental spring-blooming shrubs and small trees for gardens across Pennsylvania. Match the species' natural cold hardiness with the expected minimum temperatures in your area of central Pennsylvania.

  1. Climate and Geography

    • Central Pennsylvania's climate remains consistent with snowy cold winters and comfortably warm summers with humidity. Precipitation occurs year-round, but most of it falls from spring through summer. Although the Appalachian Mountains run across all of the state, their spine stretches mostly in a northeasterly direction from the Maryland-West Virginia border to the Pocono Mountains. Southeast of this spine, the moderating effects of the Atlantic Ocean make winters a bit milder compared to counties on top of the highest parts of the Appalachians and to the northwest, where winters are colder.

    Hardiness Zones

    • Central Pennsylvania is categorized in U.S. Department of Agriculture Hardiness Zones 4b to 7a. The closer to Erie, the colder the winter while warmer winters occur closer to Philadelphia. Winters in Central Pennsylvania provide temperatures anywhere in the range of zero to minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit. The highly variable elevation affects how cold the winter gets. Most of Central Pennsylvania is in USDA Zones 5 and 6, with average minimum temperatures from minus 5 to minus 20 F.

    Magnolia Selection

    • Yulan magnolia bears creamy white to pale yellow flowers.

      The best magnolia species for Central Pennsylvania landscapes are those with at least a USDA Zone 5 hardiness rating. Saucer magnolia (Magnolia x soulangiana), star magnolia (M. stellata), Loebner magnolia (M. x loebneri) and a vast majority of modern magnolia hybrids do well in the climate of this region. Star magnolia is the most cold-hardy. The ornamental hybrid magnolias, Yulan magnolia (M. denudata) and kobus magnolia (M. kobus), are parents alongside star magnolia, making them quite cold-resistant. However, not all hybrid magnolias have the same winter cold tolerances. Sweetbay magnolia (M. virginiana) grows as a shrub because of the cold winters, but the large trees, bigleaf magnolia (M. macrophylla) and cucumber tree (M. acuminata), are hardy. Southern magnolia (M. grandiflora) is best grown only in Zones 6b and warmer.

    Recommendations

    • Contact your local cooperative extension office to speak with a horticultural agent or master gardener about winter hardiness in your Pennsylvania county, including the precise USDA zone designation. They will be best able to discuss selecting and growing magnolias appropriate for the elevation, soils and overall climate in your area. The greatest issue with growing magnolias in cold winter regions, besides winter survivability, is the likelihood of late, untimely frosts that will kill the magnolia's flower buds. Planting magnolias on gently sloping hillsides and out of the wind may diminish the effects of late frosts in early spring in Central Pennsylvania landscapes.

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