Sweet Thing Magnolia

'Sweet Thing'^TM Magnolia

Plant Patent 17,814

Magnolia virginiana var. australis

Plant Description & History - 'Sweet Thing'TM Magnolia or Magnolia virginiana var. australis ‘Perry Paige’ is a new, but proven cultivar that is quickly becoming a favorite of landscape architects and designers—as well as nurserymen. 'Sweet Thing'TM is a dwarf evergreen Sweetbay Magnolia. Those responsible for this new cultivar are George Dodson of Sleepy Hollow Nursery and Fernando Campbell Boyd III of Boyd Nursery. The original 'Sweet Thing'TM plant was discovered by George Dodson in a block of seedlings that were planted in 1990 at Sleepy Hollow Nursery. It was obvious when the plant was just about 3 years old that it was very special. After watching other Magnolia virginiana var. Australis trees in the same block for years, they began to get 8, 10, and then 15 feet in height, but there continued to be one, very compact, dense-looking, evergreen tree that was less than a third the size of the others. After watching the unique little tree for years, and having no name for the new plant, Joe Fore, a landscaper from East Tennessee, was touring the farm in the late 90’s and was shown the new tree. George told Joe that the name needed to contain the words ‘sweet’ or ‘bay’—since the unnamed Magnolia was a Sweetbay Magnolia. Out of the blue, Joe suggested the name ‘Sweet Thing’, and the name stuck! After Campbell worked years to perfect propagation techniques to produce more plants, Campbell & George formed a partnership to promote and develop Sweet Thing Magnolia. The original selected seedling is now 22 years old, is approximately 12 feet tall, and 7 ½’ wide. The original tree has been completely under water several times, has been through several droughts, has never been pruned, but continues to be very dense, dwarf, and evergreen. It has creamy-white flowers which have a nice lemon-scented fragrance at an early age. It takes shearing real well (but, requires no shearing to remain very full), and can be grown as a substitute for Holly and Laurel hedges. It can be used in mass plantings, as a large evergreen foundation plant, or as a specimen or corner plant. It will live in planters and pots on patios with no protection as well. Sweet Thing’s roots have been exposed to -10 degrees Fahrenheit when left outside in pots over the winter—with absolutely no damage! It also has no known disease or pest problems. It is a strong-growing, very tough plant, which will take wet, dry, shady, or sunny conditions, and does well in every soil type so far….Judy, George’s wife, jokingly still says that if it weren’t for Campbell learning how to produce the Sweet Thing Magnolias, that George would still be touring people around saying, ‘Hey, look at that killer, dwarf, Australis Magnolia—isn’t that cool?’ Thank goodness Campbell was able to successfully reproduce the Sweet Thing Magnolia, so we can share it with plant lovers everywhere. We hope you enjoy the plant as much as we do!

A limited number of liners are available for this shipping season. Contact Boyd Nursery Co. or Sleepy Hollow Nursery 931-668-3902 for details. The following nurseries are also growing the 'Sweet Thing'^TM Magnolia.

Shadow Nursery Inc. in Winchester, TN. 931-967-6059 Shadow Nursery Inc.
Pleasant Run Nursery in Allentown, NJ. 609-259-8585
Pleasant Run Nursery
Green Village Plants in Morrison, TN. 931-635-2057
Green Village Plants
Highlandbrook Nursery in Elkton, KY. 270-265-0020
May Nursery in Havana, FL. 800-342-7134
May Nursery
Randall Walker Farms in Morrison, TN. 931-635-9535
Randall Walker Farms
Hawksridge Farms Inc. in Hickory, NC. 800-874-4216
Hawksridge Farms Inc.
Southeastern Nursery Co. in McMinnville, TN. 931-668-4694
Southeastern Nursery web-site