Correct, the photo is Magnolia grandiflora (although I don't think I've heard it called "wax leaf" magnolia before). Here's a few of the leaves on the actual plant:

The flower is that of sweetbay magnolia, Magnolia virginiana. It is sometimes referred to as wax leaf magnolia as the leaves are coated with a waxy substance (a type of fatty acid) that helps the tree avoid diseases, repel pollutants and retain water.

I guess you could include Magnolia grandiflora in that description as well but they generally get far larger than the 15-20' listed. (leaves in above photo do NOT look like M. grandiflora!)

ETA: And what kind of retailer is selling Magnolia grandiflora in Michigan???

Also, I can't recall ever seeing a multi-stemmed grandiflora, whereas virginiana often comes as a multi-stemmed shrub.

gardengal - good point on the label's listed size (15-20') - as you noted M grandiflora (where it's hardy) grows much larger (although in Michigan that would probably be its maximum size, and then only in a very protected location).

The photo on the label is in fact grandiflora (I found the exact photo online). When I searched for "wax leaf magnolia", grandiflora was shown in a number of the image results (sweetbay was not).

The plant is definitely a Sweetbay (M virginiana), which is generally hardy here. It was reasonably priced, so I went ahead and bought it :)

LOL!! I also found that same photo online.......labeled M. virginiana!!

Scale would certainly help. Grandiflora flowers are about twice the size of virginiana.

The original photo is here, where it is called (to add to the confusion) "Sweet magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)", but the photo is certainly M grandiflora. There is another webpage that used the image (incorrectly) as a Sweetbay Magnolia.

I'm not sure that I would automatically consider the info posted by a stock photo supplier as the gospel :-) I've seen far too many errors as they are not known for being overly botanically accurate. Pretty darn easy to assume that any evergreen magnolia would be a pic of grandiflora but the "sweet" tag and flower size gives it away.

Totally agree that you can't depend on stock photo suppliers for accuracy, and I can't say why they called that particular image "Sweet magnolia". But I'm pretty certain the photo is M grandiflora and not virginiana. Maybe one of the magnolia experts will weigh in?

Not a magnolia expert, per se, but the revolute and really dark green leaves in the image tell me that is Magnolia grandiflora - not a Magnolia virginiana. Sweetbay Magnolia will also always have a pretty glaucous/silvery underside, which will never be found on Southern Magnolia.

It IS humorous that this label is on the plant you've shown, which is unquestionably Sweetbay Magnolia and which is a plant that has a shot at surviving in Michigan. I intended to ask you where there are ANY Southern Magnolia individuals persisting in Michigan. I can't believe there is a protected enough location, short of an orangerie. Maybe Wavecrest Nursery kept one alive, or the late Phil Savage.

I haven't come across any myself, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are at least a few specimens of M grandiflora in protected locations that manage to survive (but not thrive) in Michigan. The best place to find them would probably be in the residential neighborhoods along the Lake St Clair shoreline, or perhaps southwest MI along the Lake Michigan shoreline (the area where Wavecrest was located). This Magnolia Society article from 1982 listed several southern magnolias in the Detroit area.

It would be interesting to know if there has been followup reporting on those poor plants toughing it out. I still recall my one winter trip to Michigan - to visit Phil Savage - in 1991. Bitter, brisk, and despite my Wisconsin roots, I was glad when I reached the friendly confines of the Ohio River valley region once more. It was great fun to meet Phil and talk about Magnolias, and then to traverse Hidden Lake Gardens on a sparkling frozen snow covered blue sky day.

No Magnolia grandiflora should be punished that way...

I was surprised to find M grandiflora for sale here in NEPA (z6a) at a local Lowes. It was an early shipment of Brackens Brown Beauty and Little Gem. The BBB looked ok and were all gone after a few days, but the Little Gem just wasn't selling, even after a week on the racks.

One year later, same retailer and same supplier. I'll give them credit for adding a separate printed label with the correct ID, but if the buyer thinks they're getting a pink flower magnolia, they're in for a surprise.

I don't think that is sweetbay magnolia (M. virginiana). Virginiana that I know have small, white, extremely aromatic flowers. It may be M. liliiflora. The flower (at the top of this posting) is M. grandiflora but the plant shown looks like M. virginiana (so it was mislabeled). Virginiana is either fully deciduous or deciduous, and M. grandifloras are fully evergreen.

41 North, the plants for sale at this particular retailer are all sweetbays, but the picture tags have been wrong 2 years in a row - last year showing a southern magnolia, this year showing a pink magnolia. Buyer beware!

I bought one last year and it produced a couple flowers in mid June: