San Francisco Botanical Garden’s Magnificent Magnolia Bloom
/Current Bloom Status:
!!! Peak Bloom !!!
The first few cup and saucer magnolias (Magnolia campbellii) have just begun to bloom as we prepare for what is looking to be a wonderful season—the first significant wave of flowers usually comes later in January and peak bloom is historically in early to mid-February.
Admire the sights and scents on the branches of more than 200 elegant trees, as velvety silver buds and saucer-sized pink, white, and magenta flowers make an appearance in this always spectacular annual bloom at the Garden.
Endemic to Asia and the New World, Magnolias are ancient flowering trees that have endeared themselves to humans for millennia. Here in mild San Francisco, we cultivate species from across most of their range, from the monsoon-influenced, temperate forests of the Himalayas to the cloud forests of Mesoamerica.
In the winter of 1940, horticultural history was made at the newly-opened San Francisco Botanical Garden when its exotic cup and saucer magnolia (Magnolia campbellii) became the first of its kind to bloom in the United States. Huge crowds of excited and curious visitors stood in long lines to see the stunning, large, pink blossoms of this famous Magnolia that still stands in the Garden today.
That was just the beginning. The Garden is now home to more than 200 Magnolias— many rare and historic. The Garden’s current collection includes 63 species and 49 cultivars.
