Franklin Tree

The Franklin tree (Franklinia alatamaha) is a small deciduous tree in the tea family, famous as a plant that no longer exists in nature. It was discovered along Georgia's Altamaha River in 1765 by botanists John and William Bartram, who named it for Benjamin Franklin, and has not been seen in the wild since the early 1800s.

Every Franklin tree alive today descends from seed the Bartrams collected and propagated in Philadelphia. It is grown for its showy, fragrant white flowers with golden centers in late summer to fall, combined with brilliant orange-red autumn foliage. It is notoriously difficult to grow well.

• Habit: Small, often multi-stemmed tree or large shrub, 10-20 ft, with an open upright form.
• Flowers: 3-inch, fragrant, white camellia-like blooms with a boss of yellow stamens, late summer into autumn, often opening alongside fall color.
• Leaves: Glossy, oblong, dark green, 5-6 in, turning vivid red, orange and purple in fall.
• Bark: Smooth gray with vertical striations.
• Fruit: Woody, rounded 5-parted seed capsule.

Light: Full sun to light shade; full sun improves flowering and fall color.

Water: Keep consistently moist but never waterlogged; it is sensitive to both drought and poor drainage.

Soil: Rich, moist, well-drained, acidic soil high in organic matter; will not tolerate clay or alkaline soils.

Temperature: Hardy USDA zones 5-8.

Feeding: Light feeding with acid-forming fertilizer; mulch.

Challenges: Highly susceptible to root rot (Phytophthora). Plant in fresh soil with excellent drainage. Propagated by seed or cuttings.

Historically native only to a tiny area along the Altamaha River in southeastern Georgia, USA, where the Bartrams found it. It was last reliably observed in the wild around 1803 and is now considered extinct in nature.

All cultivated specimens trace to the Bartrams' propagation. It is grown by collectors and botanic gardens in well-drained acidic sites across zones 5-8.