Magnolia virginiana

Common Name: sweet bay magnolia

Native Range: Eastern United States

Zone: 5 to 10

Plant type & Form: spreading, rounded crowned tree or as a shorter, suckering, open, multi-stemmed shrub

Height: 10.00 to 35.00 feet

Spread: 10.00 to 35.00 feet

Bloom Time: May to June

Bloom Description: White

Flower: Showy, Fragrant

Fruit: Showy

Leaf: Oblong-lanceolate shiny green foliage is silvery beneath

Sun: Full sun to part shade

Water: Medium to wet

Soil type & pH: Prefers acidic, moist, rich, organic soils

Maintenance: Low

Suggested Use: Flowering Tree, Rain Garden, Excellent specimen tree for lawns or tall multi-stemmed shrub for shrub borders. Use in foundation plantings, near patios or on the periphery of woodland areas. Often planted in parks. Will grow in wet soils such as those found in low spots or near ponds/streams.

Tolerates: Clay Soil, Wet Soil, Air Pollution

Notes: 

Identification notes:  Look for smooth oblong leaves that are shiny on top, and a duller gray color underneath, that have a sweet bay like smell when crushed.  The plant will generally be multi-stemmed, and has a smooth light colored bark.  These plants often hold some of their leaves into the winter, making them sometimes considered semi-evergreen.  Features cup-shaped, sweetly fragrant (lemony), 9-12 petaled, creamy white, waxy flowers (2-3″ diameter) which appear in mid-spring and sometimes continue sporadically throughout the summer. Cone-like fruits with bright red seeds mature in fall and can be showy.