SF’s Magnificent Magnolias Valentine’s Day Stroll

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 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.

View 2025 Magnificent Magnolias Map for a self-guided highlights walk.

View 2025 Magnificent Magnolias programming including Curator Tours, Sketching, Magnolia Moonlight Walk, felt Magnolia Flowers Workshop and more.

2025 Magnolia Update

> Are the magnolias blooming right now?

Yes! The magnolias have started blooming as of January 7, 2025.

It’s officially Magnificent Magnolia season! 🌸✨ The first couple trees are already showing off saucer-sized pink blooms!

Plan your visit and find magnolia-themed programming at https://t.co/2B0W5BkMSd pic.twitter.com/R2LwSjqI7H

— San Francisco Botanical Garden (@SFBGS) January 8, 2025

In 2024, peak bloom arrived on February 10, 2024; peak bloom is expected in early-February 2025.

In 2024, the peak bloom was expected to last for two weeks through February 24, 2024. Stay tuned for 2025 peak boom dates on San Francisco Botanical Garden Instagram.

Top spots not to miss:
🌸 Temperate Asia Garden with Magnolia campbellii ‘Darjeeling’, M. sprengeri, and M. doltsopa all along the main path
🌙 Moon Viewing Garden with M. campbellii ‘Strybing White’, M. denudata, and more as well as the adjacent Camellia Garden and Southeast Asian Cloud Forest Garden have more M. campbellii and doltsopa blooming
🌸 Rhododendron Garden has several M. campbellii beautifully in bloom and nearby the grove of M. sprengeri right off the Great Meadow are stunning

Learn more and get tickets at Gardens of Golden Gate Park

• 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. In 2024, the peak started around February 10.
• 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.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by San Francisco Botanical Garden (@sfbotanicalgarden)

> 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 | 2025
San Francisco Botanical Garden, Golden Gate Park near 9th and Irving
January 7 – Late March, 2025 (approx.)

Hours
Garden opens at 7:30am
The Garden closes one hour after last entry. Last entry changes seasonally.

Spring & Summer Last Entry
2nd Sunday in March – September: 6pm

Fall & Winter Last Entry
February – 2nd Sunday in March: 5pm
October – Early November: 5pm
1st Sunday in November – January: 4pm

Free Times: Daily 7:30-9am; Second Tuesday of every month; Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day

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.