It’s Plant of the Week time once again and this week we’re covering another version of our state flower: the sweetbay magnolia. This magnolia is native to Louisiana as well as many Eastern states all the way up to Massachusetts. It does well in zones 5-9 and can be evergreen or deciduous depending on your location. The leaves are a lighter green than a standard Southern magnolia and have a slight silver hue on the bottom. Their flowers bloom from April to early June, so you can see them right now if you own a sweetbay.

You can grow these as a single stem tree or allow them to reach 3-5 stems for a thicker look. They work well for privacy screens if you plant multiple sweetbay trees in a row.

These magnolias are also not considered as messy as a Southern magnolia, although they still drop leaves and seed cones.

If you have any questions let us know!