Magnolia virginiana 'Jim Wilson' Moonglow® (Sweet Bay Magnolia)

Magnolia virginiana 'Jim Wilson,' also referred to by the trade name Moonglow®, is a hardy, showy cultivar of sweet bay magnolia noted for its slightly larger flowers, higher cold tolerance, and better vigor than the paren species; thanks to its better cold tolerance, Moonglow® illustrates better semi-evergreen to evergreen behavior. Growing to approximately the same size as a typical sweet bay magnolia, Moonglow® can get to about 30' tall with a spread of up to 20' tall, making it an excellent choice as a large screen or understory planting and for specimen planting, where its attractive foliage and bigger, more profuse flowers will be given room to shine.

From late spring to mid summer, Magnolia virginiana 'Jim Wilson' produces creamy white flowers with a lemony fragrance among its long, lustrous green leaves with silvery undersides. In the late summer and fall, pollinated flowers turn to alien-looking fruit pods with red seeds that are attractive to birds. Moonglow® sweet bay grows best in full sun to partial shade, and in medium-wet acidic soils, though it tolerates wetter, boggy soils and deer browsing, making it a versatile choice for a number of landscaping uses including erosion control, rain gardens, and large pollinator gardens, where it can be used as a food source for butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.