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SF’s Gorgeous Magnolia Bloom in Golden Gate Park (2024)

Golden Gate Park’s gorgeous magnolias are expected to have their peak bloom a little later in February
By - posted 2/6/2024 No Comment

Thanks to San Francisco Botanical Garden for sharing the news that the first of their beautiful magnolias are blooming.

One of San Francisco’s most breathtaking natural marvels, the annual bloom of more than 200 rare and historic magnolias with trees reaching 80 feet, is typically at its peak from mid-January through March at the SF Botanical Garden.

Velvety silver buds on the often bare branches of these elegant trees, many rare and historic, open into dazzling pink, magenta, and white flowers, filling the wintery garden with dramatic splashes of color and sweetly fragrant scents.

2024 Magnolia Update

  • The first wave in typically mid January is the garden’s signature M. campbellii which are first to bloom in the Camellia Garden with some M. sprengeri starting around the same time in the Temperate Asia collection and near Fountain Plaza.
  • Starting usually late-January into the first couple weeks of February the bloom typically crescendos into “peak bloom” with all the various M. campbellii cultivars, M. dawsoniana, M. denudata, and more putting on the best show of the season throughout the areas where there are concentrations of large, beautiful trees—Temperate Asia, Camellia Garden, Moon Viewing Garden, and Rhododendron Garden. For 2024 it looks like the Magnolias are a little behind. Last year (2023) the peak started around February 8th.
  • Late February into March, the hybrid M. x. soulangeana, M. x. veitchii , as well as more subtle M. stellata, and M. laevifolia close out the annual display just as all the many other spring blooming plants at the Garden start to flower and fresh foliage begins to push.

Are the magnolias blooming right now? Please note that weather may affect the blooms, and at the beginning or end of the season, there may be fewer blooms than expected.

Friday, February 7, 2024 – Checking on our Magnificent Magnolias after the storm 😅🌸

Luckily, the Garden was relatively unaffected and the magnolias are doing just fine. These beautiful tepals have evolved to be quite sturdy to be able to withstand and welcome the magnolias’s original ~clumsy~ pollinator, beetles.

🌸 This week, make sure to look for beautiful deep magenta blooms from Magnolia campbellii ‘Darjeeling’ in the Temperate Asia Garden and cheerful light pink blooms on Magnolia dawsoniana down the path.

San Francisco Botanical Garden’s Current Status (as of 1/16/24): “It’s officially #MagnificentMagnolia season! 🌸 ✨ The oldest individual in our Magnolia collection, Magnolia campbellii in the Camellia Garden, is showing its very first two blooms of the season. Keep an eye on this beautiful tree for stunning, saucer-sized blooms at eye-level.

Meanwhile, another M. campbellii is brightening up the Great Meadow with several pink blooms. You’ll be able to find this tree near the Main Entrance. 🌸🌸🌸 Enjoy a stroll through the Garden this weekend to see the very first blooms (and many fuzzy buds) of the year.”

The first significant wave of flowers usually comes later in January and peak bloom is historically in early to mid-February.

> Magnolia Tip: Always check the SF Botanical Gardens on Facebook, Instagram, and X before heading out for the latest updates on how things are blooming.

Annual Magnolia Bloom | 2024
San Francisco Botanical Garden, Golden Gate Park near 9th and Irving
Mid January – Late March (approx)

Hours
Garden opens at 7:30am
The Garden closes one hour after last entry. Last entry changes seasonally.
– 1st Sunday in November – January: 4pm
– February – 2nd Saturday in March: 5pm
– 2nd Sunday in March – September: 6pm

Admission
– FREE for SF residents with proof of ID
– FREE daily from 7:30-9 am (enter via the main gate)
– FREE all day on the second Tuesday of the month
– FREE – Museums for All – All visitors receiving food assistance (SNAP benefits) are offered free general admission. Free admission may be redeemed by presenting a valid EBT card upon entry.
– $11 for Non-residents | Discounts for Seniors, Military & Veterans, Families & Children

San Francisco Botanical Garden is home to the most significant magnolia collection for conservation purposes outside China, where the majority of species originated. Its current collection includes 51 species and 33 cultivars including many prized examples from Asia.