Norchester Garden Club members have volunteered to adopt a needy child for the next two years. The Texas Legacy Tree project was looking for individuals to care for some of the seedlings being raised by Mercer Arboretum. And these babies really look like they need some loving attention, having barely survived our recent freeze.
The trees are Sweetbay Magnolia. Carol picked them up from the Mercer Arborist, Laura. Laura is managing this project for Mercer.
Ms Laura is an A&M graduate and has been the Mercer Arborist since 2016.
The Sweetbay Magnolia Tree (Magnolia Virginiana) has glistening dark green leaves with a silver underside that has a frosted appearance. The 2"-3" creamy white flowers have a light lemon scent and are visible in late spring and early summer. It is very elegantly shaped and is a good choice for a specimen or patio tree. Bright scarlet-red seeded fruit ripens in late summer attracting many birds. Prefers moist, acid soil with sun to partial shade. They grow at a medium rate, with gains of anywhere between 13 to 24" per year, and will reach 10'-20' high at maturity with an equal spread. Magnolias can be trained as a tree form as well as a hedge or shrub, depending on your liking. The fruit is eaten by gray squirrels, white-footed mice, turkey and quail as well as a variety of songbirds including vireos, towhees, northern flicker and blue jays.
HEIGHT: 10-20'
WIDTH: 10-20'
Prefers full sun to partial shade
The sweetbay magnolia grows in acidic, loamy, moist, rich, sandy, silty loam, well-drained and wet soils. It will tolerate periodic flooding.
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