Franklinia alatamaha

Franklin Tree

The Franklin Tree has white Camellia-like fragrant flowers in late summer with striking red fall foliage. Franklinia alatamaha needs good organic matter and constant moisture in its planting location. Ours are from seed rather than cuttings and our experience is that Franklinias have more vigor and disease resistance when grown from seed. John Bartram and his son William discovered Franklinia growing along the banks of the Altamaha River in southeastern Georgia and the genus name honors Benjamin Franklin. Batram collected seed from this spot in the late 1700s, and few years later the tree became extinct in the wild so all Franklinia alatamaha are decedents from the original seeds.