Magnolia (Parcleo) Paradise® Princess Cleopatra

Common Name: Magnolia ‘Princess Cleopatra’ (Magnolia × laevifolia ‘ParCleo’)

Description:
Princess Cleopatra is an elegant evergreen magnolia selected in Australia for its compact, tidy form and generous flowering. It offers creamy-white to pale-pink-blush cup-shaped blooms in two flushes—late winter through spring and again in summer to autumn—filling gardens with a sweet fragrance and floral abundance that often obscures the glossy foliage. Thriving in Melbourne’s climate, it prefers full sun to part shade and well-drained soils. Easily maintained at 2–3 m as a specimen or hedge, it can reach up to 4 m if left unpruned. This low-maintenance magnolia is drought-tolerant once established and responds well to light pruning to shape.

Form:

• Shrub – Medium to Large

• Tree – Small (if unpruned)

• Suitable for Hedging / Screening

Mature Size:

• Height: typically maintained at 3–4 m (2–3 m when hedged)

• Width: 1.5–2 m

Aspect:

• Full Sun

• Part Shade

Flowering:

• Flowers in Winter

• Flowers in Spring

• Flowers in Summer

• Flowers in Autumn

Flower Colour:

• Creamy-white to pale pink-blush petals

Key Attributes:

• Evergreen

• Perennial

• Fragrant blooms

• Suitable for Hedging / Screening

• Suitable as Specimen or Feature Plant

• Low-Maintenance

• Moderately Drought Tolerant once established

• Frost Tolerant (light frost)

• Can be grown in Containers when young

Toxicity:

• Not known to be toxic to humans or pets

Companion Plants:

• Hellebores – for winter underplanting

• Camellia japonica – complementary bloom shapes and timing

• Rhododendrons – similar soil and light needs

• Ferns – add foliage contrast to glossy leaves

Cultivation Tips:

• Prefers fertile, well-drained soil—improve heavy clay with organic matter

• Apply mulch to conserve moisture and suppress weeds, keeping clear around the trunk

• Water regularly until established; moderate drought tolerance thereafter

• Perform light pruning post-flowering to maintain shape and encourage rebloom