Flowering TreesSweetbay Magnolia
Magnolia virginiana
Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) is a fast-growing flowering tree, hardy in USDA zones 5-10, that matures to about 10-35 ft × 10-35 ft. It does best in full sun and part shade with high water needs in well-drained, moist and occasionally-wet soil. Expect cream and white blooms in spring and summer. It attracts butterflies, hummingbirds and pollinators, stands up well to deer, fire and pollution, grows happily in containers.
- USDA zones
- 5-10
- Sun
- Full sun, Part shade
- Water
- High
- Mature size
- 10-35 ft × 10-35 ft
- Spacing
- 12-24 feet
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Maintenance
- Low
- Soil
- Well-drained, Moist, Occasionally-wet
- Foliage
- Silver, Green
- Bloom color
- Cream, White
- Bloom season
- Spring, Summer
- Attracts
- Butterflies, Hummingbirds, Pollinators, Small mammals, Songbirds
- Tough against
- Deer, Fire, Pollution, Salt, Wet soil
- Native to
- Eastern United States
In the landscape
Data sources
Freeze survival
Will it survive your winters?
Hardiness zones show a normal bad winter. We check the worst one — Sweetbay Magnolia is hardy to about -20°F (estimated from USDA zone 5), so we'll score it against the real coldest nights your area has actually had.
Powered by ~35 years of daily lows from the nearest NOAA weather station. A risk read, not a guarantee — a sheltered spot or mature plant beats the odds.
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