Northern Belle Sweetbay Magnolia

Magnolia virginiana ‘Northern Belle’

Plant Details

USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 4a-10b Find Your Zone

Plant Type: Evergreen Flowering Tree

Height at Maturity: 35′

Width at Maturity: 15′

Spacing: 8-10′ for privacy screens; 18′ or more for space between trees

Growth Rate: Fast

Growth Habit / Form: Upright, Narrow, Oval

Flower Color: Creamy-White

Flower Size: 3″ diameter

Flowering Period: Late Spring through Summer

Flower Type: Single, Cup-shaped

Fragrant Flowers: Yes – Sweet lemony fragrance!

Foliage Color: Dark Green

Fragrant Foliage: No

Berries: Orange-Red

Sun Needs: Full Sun or Mostly Sun, Morning Sun with Dappled or Afternoon Shade, All Day Filtered Sun, Morning Shade with Evening Sun

Water Needs: Average

Soil Type: Clay (amended), Loam, Sand (amended), Silt

Soil Moisture / Drainage: Wet to Well Drained Moist

Soil pH: 5.0 – 6.5 (Acid to Slightly Acid)

Maintenance / Care: Low

Attracts: Visual Attention, Birds

Resistances: Cold, Deer – more info, Disease, Drought, Heat, Humidity, Insect, Wet Soil

Description

A North American native snowbird that is happy and evergreen as far north as Augusta Maine, the Northern Belle Sweetbay Magnolia will also be just as happy to migrate as far south as Tampa Florida!

In June and July, creamy white flowers perched like tulips at the ends of branches open to sweetly fragrant, larger-than-normal, creamy white bowl-shaped flowers in June and July, repeating sporadically through the rest of summer. The flowers stand out nicely against the long, dark green, evergreen leaves and are followed by attractive, small orange-red fruits.

A fast grower, all grown up you can expect Northern Belle to reach about 25 feet tall with a more narrow, oval form to only 15 feet wide. Though she’ll do fine in soils of average moisture, Northern Belle also likes wet feet so very happy to grow in those boggy areas of the landscape that don’t ever seem to dry out.

Landscape & Garden Uses

Growing up to 25 feet tall in a narrow, oval form to 12 to 15 feet wide, the Northern Belle Sweetbay Magnolia is ideal for use as a focal point specimen, in groupings, or in straight or staggered rows in privacy screen plantings. She grows well in soils with medium moisture to even wet soils so is an excellent selection for bog gardens. Can also be useful to frame the corners of tall homes and other buildings. A fine addition to fragrance gardens, white color theme gardens, bog gardens, North American Native gardens, and wildlife gardens.

Suggested Spacing: 8 to 10 feet apart for privacy screens; 18 or more feet apart for space between trees

Growing Preferences

The Northern Belle Sweetbay Magnolia is very easy to grow in a most any soil including wet or boggy soils. It grows well in full sun, part shade, or mostly shade.

Note: Find helpful advice from our experts under the Planting & Care tab above on desktop monitors or below on mobile phones.

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Arrived well packaged, soil moist. Put in ground already. Arrived from a nursery in Georgia so Will see how it holds up to weather in Maryland. Only complaint is that top was cut and some side branches pruned to fit in box. I would have preferred they just bent the branches.——————————————Thanks for the photos! If we don’t prune some of the plants before shipping, they might end up with broken branches. But in the future just let the staff know, that you prefer no pruning. Thanks so much! Let us know if there’s ever anything we can help you with. 🙂 – Beth | WBG