'Sweet Tea' Mountain Gordlinia

xGordlinia grandiflora is a rare intergeneric hybrid between Franklinia and Gordonia developed by the great plant breeder, Tom Ranney, at NC State in 2006. 'Sweet Tea' was selected among the nine seedlings that resulted from 75 pollinated flowers. How about these attributes: huge (4-5” diameter) flowers, Semi-evergreen, large glossy green leaves turning a remarkable red fall color, and those single, camellia-like flowers blooming from mid-summer to late Fall! We love seeing people react to ‘Sweet Tea’ when they see them in the nursery, and why 'Sweet Tea'? Well, the folks at NC State said, “It's a member of the tea family; the flowers have a light sweet fragrance; and it comes from the South where sweet tea runs in our veins!”