well, they usually are much cheaper online. I would actually go to daves garden. Daves garden gives many references to online venders, you can choose from there. Good luck

it is one of the most common mags around..

and TN is a big producer of such plants..

i have no clue why you would mail order it ... but knock yourself out ...

most trees are mailed and planted in dormancy.. and you are probably past that point now ... i would recommend mail order and planting in fall ...

ken

If you are going to bother with mailorder then buy a named selection from a specialist like Gossler Farms, instead of local stock that may be offered simply as saucer magnolia.

greenthumbzdude understands me completely.

"well, they usually are much cheaper online."

That is why I would want to buy online if possible instead of spending $85 or above at a local nursery for one tree. Thanks for the suggestion of planting in the Fall, however, if I go that route.

Gossler Farms looks to have a nice selection.

Thanks.

Price versus value.

it's been my experience that when you compare size to size that it is no cheaper buying online or anywhere else. and once shipping is calculated the local place suddenly becomes much more of a value leader. unless you are looking for odd varieties that only a specialist would carry.

Nowadays it is pretty hard to find a tree of any size that isn't in the vicinity of 100 dollars. Special kinds grown in small quantities may be 50-100 dollars for a small specimen.

Saucer magnolia often produces a rather large, wide-spreading specimen. If there is not something specific to it that your wife is trying to get maybe one of these would be better. They are less coarse-textured and large-growing, and less prone to the flowers being damaged.

Here is a link that might be useful: The U.S. National Arboretum presents eight hybrid magnolia cultivars affectionately known as ''The Girls.''

Thanks for the magnolia cultivator suggestions. I will definitely let her take a gander at them. The whole reason for this post was based on my experience with fruit trees. For fruit trees, there was no need to go to a local nursery and even with shipping costs, the cost for a good set of bare root trees is cheaper and of comparable or better quality than local nursery (or big box stores).

Yes, the magnolia will be potted or balled-in-burlap so the shipping cost has to cover more weight. Otherwise, as with fruit trees there will be a much bigger selection presented in catalogs or on the web than from one or two local stores, unless you happen to have a specialist with a larger offering in the vicinity.