Sweet Bay comes from a cooler, northern range and blooms later avoiding late frost damage to flower petals as often happens with southern magnolias in our area.
Native to the southeastern US and north along the Atlantic coast to New York. In the northern part of its cultivated growing range, it typically grows 15–20’ tall tree with a spreading, rounded crown. It has no serious insect or disease problems, tolerates clay soil, wet soil, air pollution, and prefers sun to partial shade.