Native Fall Bloomers: Franklin Tree and Mountain Gordlinia
- Jennifer Anderson
- Oct 18
- 4 min read
Yes, the fall foliage is spectacular here in New England! Here’s a twist: trees that actually flower in the fall.
If Crape Myrtle comes to mind, you’re not alone. Lagerstroemia indica is the most commonly planted tree for fall blooms – and one of the most popular ornamentals overall.
It may be good to look at, but it is not native anywhere in the United States and not great for wildlife or biodiversity.
Less well known are the native fall bloomers: Franklin Tree, Franklinia alatamaha, and a hybrid of the Franklin, Mountain Gordlinia, xGordlinia grandiflora.
Both feature not only white fall blooms but also red fall foliage, and observational studies on the Franklin tree found butterflies, moths, bees, wasps, ants and numerous types of flies pollinating the large, camellia-like flowers.
“Based on the architecture of the tree,” adds Heather Gladfelter, a post-doctoral associate at the University of Georgia, “birds could nest in the tree, [and the tree can] host squirrels while the very low branches, which can touch the ground, could harbor nests for rodents, chipmunks, rabbits, and even snakes.”
Franklin Tree, named after Benjamin Franklin, was discovered growing in the wild in the late 1700s along the Altamaha River in Georgia. By the early 1800s the tree had mysteriously gone extinct, an event that appears to coincide with the introduction of a fungus-like pathogen.
P. cinnamomi arrived in the United States sometime in the late 1700s, most likely through the trade of ornamental plants from Asia.
As Gladfelter explains, the LeConte family – of the LeConte Pear, Mt. LeConte in the Smoky Mountains and the LeConte-Woodmanston Plantation and Botanical Garden – settled in Savannah, Ga. in the 1700s and introduced several exotic species, including the Japanese Camellia, Camellia japonica.
Not only was there “a good chance” the pathogen arrived with these plants, Gladfelter said, but as plant enthusiasts worldwide visited John LeConte’s expanding gardens they often took side trips north to visit the Franklin Trees.
“Spores in the soil would adhere to shoes, horses’ hooves, wheels of carriages, and be spread all around the landscape,” Gladfelter said.
While its possible constant flooding of the Altamaha River alone did in the Franklin Tree, which Gladfelter described as “highly susceptible to root rot,” another possibility would be the combination of flooding and the presence of the spores, which are good swimmers and easily could have infected surrounding soils.
Either way, scientists do know the Franklin Tree cannot survive in soils infected with the pathogen, Gladfelter said.
She and her colleagues are working to reestablish Franklin Tree in the wild, largely by helping the tree develop a resistance to P. cinnamomi. Efforts include seed irradiation as well as selective breeding of the few Franklin Trees surviving in Georgia’s Piedmont region, possibly due to a natural resistance to the pathogen.
There is no evidence P. cinnamomi exists in the Northeast, where Franklin Tree seems to grow well, and even if it did, Gladfelter said, it could not survive the freezing winters.
Another native fall bloomer, Mountain Gordlinia, has flowers that resemble Franklin’s as well as the same brilliant red fall foliage. Also like Franklin, it attracts butterflies, bees and other pollinators, Gladfelter said.
Horticulturalists at North Carolina State University created Mountain Gordlinia by fertilizing Franklin Tree with another Southern native, Loblolly Bay (Gordonia lasianthus).
A primary goal was to create a tree that would combine the showy flowers of Loblolly Bay with the cold hardiness of Franklin–which, despite being discovered in Georgia, can handle temperatures well below freezing.
Although Mountain Gordlinia initially was grown from seed, the tree rarely produces viable seed and therefore is most commonly propagated by rooted cuttings.
While Mountain Gordlinia has “hybrid vigor,” said Tom Ranney, one of the tree’s creators, it has little resistance to the pathogen.
New introductions, including xGordlinia grandiflora ‘Sweet Tea,’ are showing better resistance, he says.
Sources
Braman, S. K., Professor, Department of Entomology, University of Georgia. Email exchange, September 25, 2025
Gladfelter, H. Postdoctoral Associate, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia. Email exchange Sept. 23, 2025.
Gordonia lasianthus North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox.
Graves, G. Avian Feeding on Seed of the Exotic Ornamental Lagerstroemia indica (Crapemyrtle). Southeastern Naturalist, 17(2): 293-297. June 1, 2018.
Gresham, C.A. and D.J. Lipscomb. Loblolly-Bay. Silvics of North America. USDA. Dec. 1, 1990.
Ranney, T., JC Raulston Distinguished Professor, Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University, e-mail exchange, Oct. 9, 2025.
Ranney, T.G. and Paul R. Fantz, “xGordlinia grandiflora (Theaceae): An Intergeneric Hybrid Between Franklinia alatamaha and Gordonia lasianthus.” HortScience Vol. 41 (6): 1386-1388, October 2006.
Riddle, T.C. and Russell F. Mizell, “Use of Crape Myrtle, Lagerstroemia (Myrtales: Lythraceae), Cultivars as a Pollen Source by Native and Non-Native Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Quincy, Florida.” Florida Entomologist, 99(1):38-46 (2016)
Stephens, L.D. LeConte Family. New Georgia Encyclopedia. Sept. 15, 2014.
Thompson, L. Nature’s Best Hope: An Interview with Doug Tallamy. From the Ground Up. Issue 3. Spring, 2024.
xGordlinia grandiflora. North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
About the author
Jennifer Anderson owns Tree Talk Natives, a native tree and plant nursery in Rochester, Mass. A former news reporter, she loves to talk native plants. Jennifer also gives presentations on native plants and can be reached at jennifer@treetalknatives.com.