# Bigleaf Snowbell (Styrax grandifolius) > Leaves up to 8 inches long and sprays of fragrant white bells in April and May, on a native shrub for shady, well-drained woods. Also called bigleaf storax, large-leaf snowbell. Category: Native Shrubs. Grown from seed by Blue Whale Trees. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/bigleaf-snowbell/ ![Bigleaf snowbell (Styrax grandifolius) sprays of white bell flowers with yellow stamens beside a broad leaf](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/bigleaf-snowbell-h1610-800.jpg) *Photo: Eric Hunt, CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AStyrax_grandifolius_Arkansas.jpg)* ## Facts - Type: Shrub - Mature height: 8 to 20 ft - USDA hardiness zones: 6 to 9 - Grows wild in: The forest understory, rich moist slopes and rocky ground - Native range: 15 states, north to Ohio, south to Florida and west to Texas (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia) - Sun: Part, Shade, Full - Soil moisture: Average - Growth rate: Slow - Traits: Showy flowers, Tolerates shade, 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 snowbell is an understory shrub or small tree of southern hardwood forests. It has much larger leaves than American snowbell and grows on higher, better-drained ground. Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky list it as endangered, and Ohio presumes it gone. Plant it under tall trees at a woodland edge, where the sprays of bells can be seen up close. ## Size, growth and what to expect Bigleaf snowbell grows slowly, about a foot a year in our growth estimator. It grows 8 to 20 feet tall and 6 to 15 feet wide. In the wild it can reach about 26 feet. The leaves run up to 8 inches long, dark green above and whitish with star-shaped hairs beneath. In April and May it bears sprays of up to 19 white bells. The fragrant bells have yellow stamens. The nutlike fruit is a third to half an inch across. It ripens in August and September, and birds and small animals eat it. It grows wild from Virginia to north Florida and west to east Texas. Local stands reach north to southern Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. It lives in upland woods, ravines, rocky banks and bluffs, usually on sandy soil. ## How to grow Bigleaf Snowbell Bigleaf snowbell grows in part shade under tall trees, as it does in the wild, and it takes full shade or sun. It wants a sandy or loamy soil, acid to neutral, that stays moist but drains well. It does not take flooding. It likes summer heat and grows poorly where summers are cool. Plant it 8 feet from a wall, and set plants 8 feet apart, since it suckers into a thicket in time. It stays short enough to plant within 15 feet of overhead wires. Saplings ship bare-root or potted. Plant them dormant, from leaf fall until bud swell, in a hole wider than the roots and no deeper. Set the crown at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and keep the mulch clear of the stems. Sow cleaned seed outdoors in fall. For spring, hold it damp in the refrigerator for about three months first. Water weekly through the first two summers, then only in long dry spells. Deer and rabbits browse young shrubs, so cage them for a year or two. Pull suckers that stray where you do not want them, and prune only dead or broken wood. Bigleaf snowbell carries both male and female parts in each flower, but it may set no seed with its own pollen. Plant two or more from different seed, since bees carry the pollen between plants. It has no serious insect or disease problems. ## Sources - [Flora of North America, vol. 8: Styrax grandifolius](http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=250092270) - [USDA Forest Service, Woody Plant Seed Manual: Styrax chapter, Johnson](https://www.fs.usda.gov/nsl/Wpsm/Styrax.pdf) - [NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Styrax grandifolius](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/styrax-grandifolius/) - [Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Styrax grandifolius](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=STGR4) - [Florida Native Plant Society: Styrax grandifolius](https://www.fnps.org/plant/styrax-grandifolius) - [NatureServe Explorer: Styrax grandifolius](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.135895/Styrax_grandifolius) - [Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board: Checklist of Illinois Endangered and Threatened Animals and Plants, 2025](https://dnr.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/dnr/espb/documents/et-list-review-and-revision/2025-illinois-list-revision/2025-e-t-checklist.pdf) - [Indiana Department of Natural Resources: Endangered, Threatened, and Extirpated Plants of Indiana, 10/29/2025](https://www.in.gov/dnr/nature-preserves/files/np-etrplants.pdf) - [Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves: 2022 Kentucky Rare Plant List](https://eec.ky.gov/Nature-Preserves/biodiversity/Documents/2022%20Kentucky%20Rare%20Plant%20List%202.pdf) - [Ohio Department of Natural Resources: 2024-25 Ohio Rare Native Plants Status List](https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/odnr/natural-areas/2024-25_Ohio_Rare_Native_Plants_Status_List_FINAL_draft.pdf) ## 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) - [The habitat around a tree is part of the tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/habitat-around-a-tree/index.html.md) - [Invasive vines and shrubs are what is killing your woods](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/invasive-vines-and-shrubs/index.html.md) - [Native trees and shrubs for birds: caterpillars, fruit, mast, nests and winter cover, month by month](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-birds/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 Snowbell, add ?species=bigleaf-snowbell with zone (2 to 10), sun (full, part, shade) and moisture (dry, average, wet) to that address, for example ?species=bigleaf-snowbell&zone=6&sun=part&moisture=average. - [Companion species for Bigleaf Snowbell](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=bigleaf-snowbell): 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-snowbell - [Seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md): how Bigleaf Snowbell 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-snowbell - [Pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md): what Bigleaf Snowbell 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-snowbell:2 - [Bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md): the months Bigleaf Snowbell flowers and fruits, in the grid for every species.