June Tree of the Month-Sweet bay magnolia

Native to the eastern half of the US, Magnolia virginiana, or sweet bay, does very well in St. Louis, sacrificing only a bit of height to live here compared to its east-coast siblings. It’s hard to find a specimen over 20′ in St. Louis, whereas, in the south or eastern regions of the US, it can reach 60′ or more.

Usually sold as a multi-stemmed tree, the bark is silvery-smooth and often shows a lot of ‘leg’ toward the base where leaves are few. And the leaves … wowzers! When the wind blows, those green glossy leaves show their silver linings underneath-beautiful. 

Sweet bays are considered ‘semi-evergreen.’ This confuses a lot of homeowners, especially those that don’t care for the evergreen Southern Magnolias with their coarse, thick leaves. Sweet bays retain most of their leaves throughout winter here, then in spring, produce new ones. 

Preferring full sun, they will tolerate part shade. A little protection from the west sun and winds are appreciated.

And I saved the best for last-the flowers. Sweet bays have dreamy, creamy white blossoms with a lemony fragrance that will stop you for a close-up sniff in late spring/early summer.

The seed pods that follow the flowers have bright red, showy seeds without being messy. 

Practically the perfect tree!