Magnolia
Magnolia grandiflora · Magnoliaceae
Do you need a permit?
Magnolia is a protected tree in effectively every council Pro Climbing Tree Services covers. Expect to need a tree permit, or a development application where the property is heritage listed or in a heritage conservation area.
How to identify it
Large thick glossy leaves, dark green above with a rusty felted underside, and enormous fragrant cream flowers up to 250mm across through summer. Cone like seed pods split to reveal bright red seeds. Dwarf cultivars such as Little Gem stay much smaller.
Where it grows in Sydney
Planted in established gardens across the North Shore, Eastern Suburbs, Hunters Hill and Strathfield, and increasingly used as a hedge or screen in the dwarf forms.
Common problems
- Constant drop of heavy leathery leaves that are slow to break down
- Shallow fleshy roots that resent paving, level changes and trenching
- Full sized cultivars planted where a dwarf was intended
- Dense evergreen canopy casting heavy year round shade
What removal involves
Slow growing and dense, so the timber is heavier than the size suggests. The species is not exempt in any council on this list, and mature specimens in older gardens are occasionally significant tree listed. Where the tree is being retained through building work, its shallow root plate makes a tree protection zone worth insisting on.
Council permit rules, council by council
Status below is for a tree on private land that has passed the council's size threshold. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas, significant tree registers, biodiversity mapping and conditions of development consent override every exemption shown here.
| Council | Status | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Beaches | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| Ku-ring-gai | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| Hornsby Shire | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| The Hills Shire | Confirm with Council | Council holds its species exemptions in a document rather than on its website, so confirm this species with Council before treating removal as exempt. Size thresholds apply in the meantime. Official rules |
| Blacktown City | Permit required | Council does not run a species exemption list. A permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold, and each tree is assessed on its own merits. Official rules |
| North Sydney | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| Willoughby | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| Lane Cove | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| City of Ryde | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| Hunters Hill | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| City of Sydney | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| Inner West | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| Woollahra | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| Waverley | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| Randwick | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| Bayside | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| Georges River | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| Strathfield | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
| Burwood | Confirm with Council | Council holds its species exemptions in a document rather than on its website, so confirm this species with Council before treating removal as exempt. Size thresholds apply in the meantime. Official rules |
| Canterbury-Bankstown | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules |
Frequently asked questions
Ours was sold as a dwarf but it is now 10m. What happened?
Dwarf cultivars such as Little Gem are grafted or selected forms. Seedling grown plants and mislabelled stock revert to the full species, which reaches 20m. It is a common problem with magnolias sold through general nurseries.
Do I need approval to remove a magnolia?
Yes, once it passes your council's size threshold. It is not on any exempt species list in the councils covered here.
Commonly confused with
- Loquat Magnolia leaves are thicker and glossier with rusty felt beneath, and it carries no edible fruit
Related species
Important note on council rules
This encyclopedia is a practical guide for Sydney property owners, not legal advice. Council tree rules change, and exemptions are frequently overridden by heritage listings, heritage conservation areas, significant tree registers, biodiversity mapping, endangered ecological communities and conditions attached to development consent. Always confirm the current rules with your council for your specific address before any tree work begins, or ask us to check it for you.
Photo by Riverbanks Outdoor Store from New Port Richey, FL, United States via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Need council approval? We handle the application.
Most councils will not accept a removal application without species identification, photographs and a stated reason. We prepare and lodge the lot, then carry out the work once it is approved. One call, one invoice, no forms to work out yourself.