Magnificent Magnolias

Experience the most significant conservation collection of Magnolias in the United States

in bloom mid-January through March.

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.

Current Bloom Status:

The beautiful 2022 season has concluded.

Check back for the first 2023 magnolias that usually start to flower in January.

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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.