# Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)

> The South's signature evergreen: a dense pyramidal tree (50-80 feet) with huge glossy leaves, rusty brown underneath, and dinner-plate white flowers that perfume the yard in late spring and summer. It casts deep shade, drops thick leathery leaves all year, and is too big for many suburban lots; compact cultivars like Little Gem fit better.

Source: https://treerm.org/trees/magnolia-grandiflora · Updated 2026-11-08 · License CC BY 4.0

## Facts

- Also called: Bull bay, Evergreen magnolia
- Family: Magnoliaceae
- Type: Broadleaf evergreen
- Mature height: 20 m; spread 12 m
- Growth: Medium growth; lives about 100 years
- USDA hardiness zones: 6 to 10
- Light: Sun or part shade
- Water: Moderate water
- Soil: Rich, well-drained, acidic to neutral loam; tolerates clay but not standing water; can yellow on strongly alkaline soils
- Native range: Southeastern coastal plain from North Carolina to Florida and west to east Texas

**Benefits:** Flowers, Shade, Wildlife, Birds, Salt tolerant, Storm resistant, Long lived

**Good for:** Yard shade, parks, Screening

**Watch out for:** Heavy litter, Large roots

## Care

Water deeply and regularly for the first two or three summers and keep a mulch ring; it dislikes drying out. Prune only after flowering, and leave the low limbs if you want to hide the leaf litter. Fertilize with an acid-type fertilizer in spring if leaves yellow. Scale and sooty mold are the usual pests. In Austin it does best on deep soils east of the Balcones Escarpment with extra water.

## Where it stands

- **Native:** United States (Also native in: MD, VA (USDA PLANTS distribution)); AL, United States; AR, United States; FL, United States; GA, United States; LA, United States; MS, United States; NC, United States; SC, United States; TN, United States; TX, United States (Native to the pineywoods of east Texas; widely planted but not native in Central Texas)
- **Recommended:** Los Angeles, CA, United States (On the City Plants (Los Angeles) Street Tree Species List); Sacramento, CA, United States (On the Sacramento Tree Foundation Shady 80 recommended trees list); Washington, DC, United States (On the Casey Trees Tree Rebate eligible species list); Atlanta, GA, United States (On the Trees Atlanta Top 50 Atlanta Trees list); Dallas, TX, United States (On the City of Dallas Article X Approved Tree List); Houston, TX, United States (On the City of Houston Planning and Development Department Street Tree List)

## Sources

- https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/MAGR4
- https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=MAGR4
- https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/magnolia-grandiflora/
- https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_magr4.pdf