Southern magnolias vs sweetbay magnolias

Hello, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Our beloved magnolia grandiflora, the evergreen magnolia whose leaves are prized for Christmas decorations and whose flowers can overwhelm a landscape with their fragrance, isn’t really my favorite magnolia for smell. The much smaller and more open in habit sweetbay magnolia, partially deciduous, has diminutive flowers compared to its relative, but they are far more pleasing in smell to me. They are not more subtle, it just that their distinct mixture is a combination that, like Goldilocks' bed, is just right. We have some planted near the house, and once again on those special nights when the attic fan comes roaring on high (it’s super loud), we are promised sweet dreams as we are lulled to sleep by its refreshing fragrance.