Moonglow® Sweet Bay Magnolia Tree

The clean, fresh fragrance of our native Sweet Bay Magnolia is one of early summer's great experiences. Nature Hills is proud to offer one of the best cultivars of this beloved tree. Moonglow® Sweet Bay Magnolia Tree (Magnolia virginiana 'Jim Wilson') stays narrow and compact.

It will fit the space beautifully, even in smaller gardens. And graceful Moonglow® Sweetbay Magnolia looks good all year long, with smooth, attractive bark and a well-balanced branch structure.

You'll want to be watching for the prominent flower buds to start to unfurl from late spring through summer. The lovely, creamy flowers open into a lavish cup shape and offer a hint of lemony fragrance.

Moonglow® Sweet Bay Magnolia flowers will perfume your yard for weeks in a good year. The lavish display opens later, after all chances of frost. Use them in cut flower arrangements, or plan a yearly family picture under the Sweet Bay.

Enjoy flowers throughout the early summer. They are infused with a fresh, citrusy scent that brightens your mood, and layers in amazing scents to your landscape design.

Butterflies love the flowers, too. They'll come calling for nectar, and add their airy, vivid motion to your landscape.

These flowers are great in cut flower arrangements. Cut some of the blooming branches for a tall vase, or float a bloom or two in a shallow dish of water.

You may see sporadic, fragrant, creamy-white blooms throughout the season. Take advantage of them with a sharp set of garden snips and a vase on hand.

This entire tree is sweetly fragrant. You'll be pleased to know that the roots, branches, and leaves smell sweet and spicy, a bit like vanilla. Smooth bark has a handsome, metallic gray overcast.

The large, elongated leaves are very attractive, as well. The two-toned foliage is glossy, dark green on the top. The underneath has a silvery-white coating that catches the sunlight in a flashy display.

If you have mild winters, your Moonglow Sweet Bay leaves will likely remain on the tree all year long. In colder climates, the semi-evergreen leaves are deciduous and fall off for winter.

Local songbirds love the showy, red seeds that brighten up in fall. Look fast, as birds take them quickly!

Moonglow® tolerates clay soils and standing water. It laughs at arctic cold and thrives in high heat and humidity.

Feel great about this choice. It's a beautiful tree and can be used in so many modern landscape applications. Place your order for Moonglow® Sweet Bay Magnolia trees now!

How to Use Moonglow® Sweet Bay Magnolia in the Landscape

Take time and enjoy the process of siting your new Magnolia tree. They won't like to be moved once they get their roots settled in your soil.

Use several of these useful trees in an elegant flowering privacy hedge. Allow the full lower branches to fill in all the way down the trunk.

For a solid screen, plant 8 feet apart on center. You'll measure from the center of one to the center of the next. The canopies will grow together and touch.

They look great decorating your pool deck while screening out any prying eyes. Raise the height of your existing fence with a "living green fence."

Moonglow® has a nice root system and can be used near your house. Try one 15 feet away from the corner of your house as an anchor for your foundation planting.

Compact Moonglow® won't overshadow your home. Instead, it becomes a wonderful accent that your whole neighborhood will appreciate.

Double the marvelous springtime scent and sight of those lovely creamy blooms with two as a set of lawn trees on either side of your front walk. Just watch that any nitrogen-rich lawn fertilizer stays far away, or you'll risk growing lots of leaves, but not many flowers.

Create a natural-looking, informal grouping with multiple trees and varied spacing. Use on a berm, or behind your patio seating.

These plants look incredible near water and they tolerate periodic flooding. Create a hard-working, great-looking garden feature with a Rain Garden to help filter captured rainwater.

Or, plant them along a water feature, creek or pond. They'll thrive in woodland settings, as well.

Northern gardeners can enjoy these magnificent Magnolias in your landscape. In the coldest zones, provide a sheltered spot to protect your investment.

#ProPlantTips for Care

Moonglow® Sweet Bay Magnolia loves full sun all day long. You'll have the best flowering with at least 6 hours of direct sunlight a day.

Give them any kind of soil, including periodically wet soils. They'll handle clay soils easily. With a nickname like "Swamp Magnolia", you get the picture.

They do best in slightly acidic soils. Mulch with pine bark or pine straw to a depth of three inches for a natural boost of acidity that breaks down over time. Pull mulch away from your trunk 6 inches and reapply regularly.

Give it a regular schedule of supplemental water, if rainfall isn't sufficient. This is especially important when the plants are young.

Once they are established, older plants can tolerate a bit of occasional drought. However, we recommend that you protect your investment with supplemental water as needed.

Prune after the spring bloom. Moonglow® develops into a natural column or vase shape. For best results, follow the natural line of the tree while pruning for shape.

Keep it as a tree form with a single central leader by removing all but one of the base stems. Remove lower limbs.

You can grow it as a privacy tree with all the lower limbs left intact. Allow additional base stems to grow, as well.

Deer don't tend to prefer this tree. However, if you have heavy deer pressure in your area, apply deer repellent on planting day. Reapply according to the directions on the label.

• Full Sun
• Widely Adaptable, Cold Hardy & Heat Tolerant
• Works Beautifully in Wet Areas & Humid Summers
• Tolerates Wet & Boggy Soils
• Deer Tend to Leave it Alone

You'll be thrilled to own a Moonglow® Sweet Bay Magnolia. Order yours from the expert growers at Nature Hills today!