Magnolia ‘Sunsation’ has green buds that open up to goblet-shaped, yellow flowers with a green tinge and a pink flush at the base. The flowers are sizable, up to 17cm wide. Magnolia ‘Sunsation’ produces flowers profusely in mid-spring, mostly before the leaves emerge. It has an upright, columnar form that fits well in smaller spaces. Magnolia ‘Sunsation’ is deciduous, not native to New Zealand, and a hybrid between Magnolia x brooklynensis ‘Woodsman’ and Magnolia x brooklynensis ‘Elizabeth’. Magnolia ‘Sunsation’ was selected in 1997 by August Kehr in North Carolina, United States and was introduced in 2000.