Illustration
Southern Magnolia
Magnolia grandiflora
Southern Magnolia blooms from May through July.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Southern Magnolia
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 7–10. Expect it to reach about 59 ft tall and 39 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 20 years (not yet checked).
Pets
- Not yet checked for pets.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
No toxicity note is on file for Southern Magnolia. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What this means
Written with AI assistance and not yet checked plant by plant against recorded sources, so treat every fact above as a starting point. Its scientific name was checked against botanical registries, an audit keeps its values consistent with the rest of the library, and a July 2026 review re-read the main facts of every plant then in the library against horticultural authorities without recording a source for each, which is why none of that counts as checked here. The source-by-source check is working through the whole library in the open, and a checked plant says so in this row.
When to plant Southern Magnolia
Plant Southern Magnolia in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 8, the middle of its hardy zones 7 to 10, spring means February to April and fall means September or October. Once settled, it blooms from May to July.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 8, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 8 in February. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Southern Magnolia get?
59 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult39 ftwideSee Southern Magnolia in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Southern Magnolia
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Give Southern Magnolia about 39 ft of clear ground in every direction, measured from its center. It is one plant with room around it, not a row, and a raised bed is too small for it.
Add Southern Magnolia to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where it grows wild
Native to 8 states
United States: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas
Recorded growing wild in 214 counties.
Also grows wild, but is not native, in Kentucky, Maryland and Virginia.
Range data from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 4.0, adapted) and USDA PLANTS. How the native range is credited.
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.