Thanks for that info. That site is mind-boggling! There's over 1000 cultivars they have listed. I'll watch this bud to see if it opens and will be sure to grab a lot of pics of it, I think that will help a lot in pinning down which magnolia. And of course I'll watch if any more buds will start to actually open up like this one did. Most of them are very small still, I was really surprised to see this one bud this morning.
But I'm happy just knowing it's a magnolia at this point, and hope it will have the typical spring flowers.
I should be heading to the Chicago Botanic Garden again tomorrow, I'll have to be sure and really scrutinize their magnolias and see they have any buds that look like they're about to open.
