Magnolia, Sweetbay, Bare Root

Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana)

A magnolia for moist, acidic ground, with cream-colored flowers and pale leaf undersides. It may form a multi-stemmed shrub or small tree, with larger growth possible in warmer climates.

Key Characteristics

A different pollinator audience

The bowl-shaped flowers offer pollen to beetles. A garden designed for pollinators can include these visitors alongside its bee and butterfly plantings.

Leaves and seeds have separate roles

Eastern tiger swallowtail larvae use the foliage, while birds take the exposed red seeds. Allow some leaf feeding on a healthy plant.

Plan for climate-dependent growth

It can be deciduous in colder climates and hold more foliage in mild winters. Give it room beyond a small foundation bed; the usual height range is not a maximum in the Deep South.

Product Details

• Native range: Eastern United States, south to the Gulf Coast and west to Texas; also Cuba
• Life cycle: Woody perennial; deciduous to semi-evergreen shrub or tree
• Sun: Full Sun; Part Sun/Shade
• Soil moisture: Medium; Medium-Wet; Wet
• Mature height: 10–35 feet
• Bloom: May–June–July
• Bloom color: White, Cream
• USDA hardiness zones: 5–9
• Fruit or seed: Cone-like fruiting structures expose red seeds eaten by birds; not sold as a food crop.
• Pollination: Beetles visit the flowers; seedlings are not a named fruit cultivar.

Planting and Ongoing Care

Keep bare roots moist until planting, water the root zone during establishment, and mulch without covering the crown. Base fertilizer on a soil test; our Tree Planting Kit fertilizer blend can be used according to its label when feeding is needed.

Yellow leaves in alkaline soil may indicate chlorosis. Check soil pH and roots before adding fertilizer; young growth may suffer winter damage near the cold edge of its range. Avoid insecticides on open flowers. Seed-grown plants vary in growth, flowering, and fruiting.