Magnolia virginiana – Sweet Bay Magnolia (B&B.H.HMR.M.OP)

The sweet bay magnolia is a graceful, slender, flowering, deciduous to semi-evergreen native shrub or tree. it typically grows 10 to 35 feet tall and equally as wide. As a tree, it has a spreading, open rounded crown, or it may be a shorter, suckering, open, multi-stemmed shrub. The leaves are shiny, and dark green on the upper surface, and the undersides are pubescent and silvery. The flowers are solitary, and fragrant, measuring 2 to 3 inches in diameter, with creamy white blooms that have 9 to 12 petals. The flowers will open in the morning and close during the night for up to 2 to 3 days.  After flowering, cone-like fruits of aggregate follicles appear and contain bright red seeds.

The sweet bay magnolia prefers full sun to partial shade and does best in consistently moist to wet, acidic, and organically rich soils. This species tolerates wet, swampy, and boggy soils; whereas, most other magnolias are intolerant.

Host plant for Spicebush and Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies!