Anise Magnolia - Winter in Garage?

Hello!

I'm contemplating ordering an Anise Magnolia for my garden from rarefind nursery. I won't be planting it until spring since its a bit late in the season now. How safe/easy would it be to order one now and keep it in a container until spring in my garage? What is the best way to go about it?

Or should I just be patient and wait until spring?

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/116862/#b

This plant is rated for a much colder zone than 8, so I think it would be pretty safe.

I would risk getting it now, and planting it.
Then I would use a product like Cloud Cover to protect it until it loses its leaves. I am not sure if CC helps bare branches, but it would not hurt to try it.

Gonna go look up cloud cover now. Thanks do the advice Diana!

Now if I can just sneak the tree in under my wife's nose.....

If you get a small one...

I grow several Magnolia's, Camellia's and Azalea's as well as the other acid loving Rhododendrons, they do take winter temps of varying Cold / freeze / frost BUT, as most of these plants are shallow rooters, I give a good top dressing of leaf mould or even peat would do, however I find when peat as a mulch dries out, it is quite hard to get it soaking wet again come spring. If you cant find enough leaf mould, to give around 4 inches thick mulches, you can add some larger stones on top of the mulch as this gives protection however, you must remove the stones come summer IF the root area gets a lot of sun, the stones can act as a hot water bottle IF in direct sun.Where I am, it is not a problem as most of these plants are crown in dapple shade under the umbrella of tall trees where they would grow in their natural habitat, We cant all provide these conditions so we learn to adapt things with what we have.

I learned about the use of stone's around the root areas of some shallow rooted plants from the OLD garden we took over and managed to tame most of it over the many years and found old Photo's to help how it was in it's day, stones by the way help stability at the roots especially IF growing on a slight slope. they add weight to the roots as some soils are not heavy.
I also used to dig up old batteries everywhere, could never figure that bit out, thought they were very lazy folks who never dumped anything in their garbage, however, on a visit to the Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh, I was informed it was the best way in early 1900's to add acidity to your soil for growing certain plants that require that type of soil.

Dont plant your Magnolia where you will get direct early morning sun. IF you get frosty mornings, the flowering buds can get a touch of freeze, the early morning sun defrosts these flowering bud way too fast and they turn brown, much better IF the sun can reach the plants a bit later light mid Morning, this allows a slower defrost and less damage.

I agree that now is the time to plant your Magnolia as the soil should still be warm enough not to shock the plant, add plenty peat, leaf mould to the soil you remove from the hole, also I would add some acidic plant feed to this soil, this will give the plant a great start in it's new environment.
Offer protection to the plant stems and branches IF needed, Remember these plants LOOSE their foliage and the flower come on bare stems, hence the frost getting to the flowers due to no leaf protections.
If you cant get the plant into the ground before real winter sets in, put it into a larger pot with the same soil mix I mentioned and leave it OUTDOORS in a sheltered area with cover protection IF you get a freeze warning, don't throw covers on IF not required as you really want the plant to toughen up to become self sufficient to your climate.
They can be slow to get going but normally give a great show after a couple of years depending on the purchased size of plant, I ALWAYS deadhead my flowers after they have began to deteriorate as I dont like the production of seeds that I will never use, it takes up energy from the plant.

Good luck, Hope this helps you out and you enjoy these wonderful showy plants that last for hundreds of years with the right conditions.
Best Regards,
WeeNel.

The spot where I am going to plant the tree well get morning and mid day sun. Pictures attached of location.

Thanks for all the advice Diana WeandWeeNel

WeeNel, what do you mean about rocks? Are you talking about using them around the base of the tree, or...?

With regards to Morning sun, these plants really don't like that for the reasons I have given, could you plant it closer into the tree top umbrella that makes shaded / shaddow area, this will give dappled shade which is all it will require. I dont know what time of day you took the picture but Pic one either has ground cover plants OR it is showing shaded areas on the grass / soil.

By Rocks Added to the root area, I gather old broken flat paver slabs or flattish stones that are NOT pebbles, they are larger stones picked up on travels, beach (soak in bucket the beach gathered ones to remove the salt) always change the water in bucket each day, the idea in to add a stone cover over the area you placed the Soil back into the hole, this offers protection from strong sun / heat.
I would also add an empty clear plastic juice bottle with top and bottom removed, put this into the soil (narrow end down) put close to the roots as you back fill the hole, leave 2 inch of the plastic above the soil as this helps you add water to the root area that needs it most, when you water, you fill the plastic bottle up a couple of times instead of spraying the top soil, I do both when hosing these plants when young, after a few years you can if you want, remove the plastic bottle, but most of mine are left in place, they are never in sight when walking past the plants. this is also a good way to add any feed (ACIDIC plant food) if required.

Hope this helps you a bit more.
Kindest Regards.
WeeNel.