# Bigleaf Magnolia (Magnolia macrophylla) > The largest simple leaves and flowers of any tree native to North America, with leaves up to 3 feet long and fragrant white flowers up to 14 inches across. Also called large-leaved cucumber tree, greatleaf magnolia. Category: Uncommon Yard Trees. Grown from seed by Blue Whale Trees. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/bigleaf-magnolia/ ![Bigleaf magnolia (Magnolia macrophylla) open white flower with purple blotches among its huge leaves](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/bigleaf-magnolia-h1610-800.jpg) *Photo: Plant Image Library, CC BY-SA 2.0 ยท [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AMagnolia_macrophylla_ssp._macrophylla_%2835433009306%29.jpg)* ## Facts - Type: Medium tree - Mature height: 30 to 40 ft - USDA hardiness zones: 5 to 9 - Grows wild in: Rich moist slopes, the forest understory and floodplain forests - Native range: 15 states, north to New York and south and west to Louisiana (Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia). Also recorded in 1 other state, outside its native range - Sun: Part, Full - Soil moisture: Average - Growth rate: Slow - Traits: Showy flowers, Rare, Wildlife value - Sold as: Saplings, Seed Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them. ## Availability Not yet priced online. Ask at captain@bluewhaletrees.com or leave an email on the web page to be told when it is listed. ## Notes Bigleaf magnolia is a single-trunked tree of the southeastern United States, with leaves bright green above and silvery beneath. It is rarely found in the wild, where it grows in small, isolated stands. NatureServe ranks it secure overall but critically imperiled in Virginia, South Carolina and Arkansas, and Ohio lists it as endangered. Ashe's magnolia, which some botanists treat as its subspecies, is a smaller, often multi-trunked tree of the Florida panhandle that flowers when young. Bigleaf grows larger, with bigger leaves and more stamens, over a far wider range. Give it room in a sheltered lawn or at a woodland edge, where the huge leaves lend the garden a tropical look. ## Size, growth and what to expect Bigleaf magnolia grows slowly, about a foot a year in our growth estimator. It makes a tree of 30 to 40 feet with a crown as wide, and the largest known, in Kentucky, stood 105 feet. A seedling may take 12 or more years to flower. The flowers open in May and June, creamy white with a purple blotch at the base of the inner petals. A round, rose-red cone 2 to 3 inches long follows and ripens in late summer. Its red seeds hang on threads, and birds and small mammals eat them. It grows wild in scattered stands from Ohio and Kentucky south to Georgia and Louisiana, in alluvial woods, sheltered valleys and rich ravines. In Arkansas it is known from one site, where two trees were recorded in 1981 and a survey in 1995 found none. ## How to grow Bigleaf Magnolia Bigleaf magnolia grows best in part shade or full sun, in a rich, moist soil, acid to neutral, that drains well. It does poorly in dry or soggy ground and in city air. Wind shreds the huge leaves, so give it a sheltered spot. Plant it 20 feet from a wall, and set trees 30 feet apart. Keep it at least 15 feet from overhead wires. Saplings ship potted. Magnolias grow thick, fleshy roots that heal slowly in cold soil, so plant at the end of winter or as the buds break in spring. Dig a hole wider than the root ball and no deeper. Set the root flare at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and keep the mulch clear of the trunk. Rub the red coat off the seed, and never let it dry. Sow it outdoors in fall, half an inch deep, under hardware cloth against mice. For spring, keep it damp in the refrigerator for at least 60 days first. Water weekly through the first two summers and in long dry spells after that. Keep a wide ring of mulch over the roots. Deer and rabbits browse young magnolias, so guard the stem with wire for the first few years. Prune as little as possible, and only to take out dead or broken wood. Bigleaf magnolia carries both male and female parts in each flower, and bees and beetles moving between its flowers can set seed on a lone tree. It has no serious pests or diseases. The flowers often open high in the crown, where they are hard to see up close. In fall the huge leaves drop and take some raking. ## Sources - [Flora of North America, vol. 3: Magnolia macrophylla](http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233500769) - [NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Magnolia macrophylla](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/magnolia-macrophylla/) - [Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder: Magnolia macrophylla](https://plantfinder.mobot.org/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=a884) - [Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Magnolia macrophylla](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=MAMA2) - [Virginia Tech Dendrology: bigleaf magnolia](https://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=171) - [Georgia Native Plant Society: Bigleaf Magnolia](https://gnps.org/plant/bigleaf-magnolia-magnolia-macrophylla/) - [USDA Forest Service, Woody Plant Seed Manual: Magnolia chapter](https://www.fs.usda.gov/nsl/Wpsm/Magnolia.pdf) - [NatureServe Explorer: Magnolia macrophylla](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.145212/Magnolia_macrophylla) - [Ohio Department of Natural Resources: Rare Native Ohio Plants, 2024-25 Status List](https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/odnr/natural-areas/2024-25_Ohio_Rare_Native_Plants_Status_List_FINAL_draft.pdf) - [North Carolina Natural Heritage Program: List of Rare Plant Species of North Carolina 2024](https://www.ncnhp.org/media/831/open) - [Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation: Natural Heritage Resources of Virginia, Rare Plants, June 2026](https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/document/plantlist-current.pdf) - [Chicago Botanic Garden: Magnolia macrophylla](https://www.chicagobotanic.org/plant-information/plant-finder/magnolia-macrophylla-bigleaf-magnolia) - [Trees and Shrubs Online (International Dendrology Society): Magnolia macrophylla](https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/magnolia/magnolia-macrophylla/) ## Read before planting - [Ten planting mistakes that quietly kill trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/ten-planting-mistakes/index.html.md) - [Transplanting young trees: timing, water and protection](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/transplanting-young-trees/index.html.md) - [Protecting young trees from voles, rabbits, deer and squirrels](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/protecting-trees-from-animals/index.html.md) - [Multistem or single stem? Sometimes the trunk is hiding the answer](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/multistem-or-single-stem/index.html.md) - [Leaf litter, not wood chips, under the canopy](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/leaf-litter-not-wood-chips/index.html.md) - [Native trees and shrubs for butterflies and moths: host plants first, nectar second](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-butterflies-and-moths/index.html.md) ## Related - [Planting-site check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md): for a thrive, struggle or fail verdict on Bigleaf Magnolia, add ?species=bigleaf-magnolia with zone (2 to 10), sun (full, part, shade) and moisture (dry, average, wet) to that address, for example ?species=bigleaf-magnolia&zone=5&sun=part&moisture=average. - [Companion species for Bigleaf Magnolia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=bigleaf-magnolia): the natives that share its ground and the plants that pair with it in a yard. - [Growth estimator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md): how the height and trunk projections are made; the estimate itself runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/#species=bigleaf-magnolia - [Seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md): how Bigleaf Magnolia is sown, in the chart for every species (treatment, cold days, depth, timing); the dated plan runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/#species=bigleaf-magnolia - [Pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md): what Bigleaf Magnolia needs for a crop and how many to plant, in the table for every species; the planner runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/#plants=bigleaf-magnolia:1 - [Bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md): the months Bigleaf Magnolia flowers and fruits, in the grid for every species.