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Resources < Wildlife Habitats < Native Plants < Native Plant Database < Magnolia virginiana
In the upper Piedmont area of Georgia, sweetbay tends to be a well-mannered, rather small tree, 20 to 30' high and about 10' wide. In the Atlanta area it makes the perfect courtyard or patio tree and can be used as a substitute for Japanese magnolias, whose lovely flowers are so often turned to brown mush by the region’s late frosts. Further south and towards the coast, however, sweetbay is not nearly so restrained, frequently soaring to heights of 60, 70, and even 100' in the Coastal Plain.
No matter how big sweetbay gets, it's always a desirable landscape plant. Its creamy, lemon-scented flowers bloom on and off all summer, and its interesting red seed cones attract a number of bird species come fall. The leaves are usually semi-evergreen to evergreen in Georgia, and, whatever the season, they flash their silvery undersides every time a breeze passes through. Though sweetbay is usually found in swamps, sloughs, and other boggy areas in the wild, your backyard doesn't have to be a wetland to support this beautiful tree—sweetbay will perform just fine in average garden soil.
Magnoliaceae (Magnolia Family)
Small to large deciduous to semi-evergreen to evergreen tree with elliptical, silver-backed leaves measuring 3 to 5" long and 2" wide. 2 to 3", fragrant, creamy white flowers bloom in late spring and summer. Cones containing bright red seeds are available in late summer and fall.
20 to 30' high in north Georgia, 60 to 70' high in south and coastal Georgia.
In north Georgia, a small, multi-stemmed, deciduous to semi-evergreen to evergreen tree with a loose, open form. In south Georgia and along the coast, a large semi-evergreen to evergreen tree with a single trunk and a pyramidal habit.
Medium to fast.
Full sun to part shade.
For best results, plant in moist to boggy acid soil. Though plants are usually found in wet areas in the wild, they can also be grown in average garden soil.
Assets include a graceful, open form; evergreen to semi-evergreen leaves with silver undersides; fragrant ivory flowers in spring and summer; and bright red seed cones in fall.
Use as an accent plant or small specimen tree in north Georgia and as a large specimen or shade tree in south Georgia and along the coast.
Host plant for swallowtail butterflies. Seeds are eaten by woodpeckers, kingbirds, red-eyed vireos, mockingbirds, robins, thrushes, squirrels, and white-footed mice. Deer browse the leaves and twigs.
Found in low, wet woods, swamps, and bogs, primarily in the Coastal Plain and lower Piedmont.
Semi-hardwood cuttings, cold stratified seed.
Written by Leslie Kimel, Georgia Wildlife Federation
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Sweetbay Magnolia
