For about two weeks every February, San Francisco is privy to a breathtaking sight: the , one of the most important collections of magnolias in America.

peak bloom of Golden Gate Park’s magnolia trees

The 200-plus trees are located in the  and at the moment, are going off in saucer-shaped explosions of pink, ivory and magenta. More silver buds, velvety like soft deer antlers, are primed to go. The peak bloom should last until the end of next week (Feb. 22). Flowering could continue into mid-March, if the .

San Francisco Botanical Gardenweather stays cool and copacetic

Flowers bloom on a Magnolia tree at the San Francisco Botanical Garden on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025, in San Francisco, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group) 

The magnolias were originally planted by the garden’s inaugural director, Edward Walther, a German immigrant who had a passion for the species. When the rare cup-and-saucer magnolia tree – typically found in the Himalayas — bloomed in 1940, it was the first of its kind to do so in the United States and drew admiring crowds from all over the Bay.

garden’s

“Magnolias are a really beautiful and charismatic tree. It’s kind of hard not to fall in love with them,” says Ryan Guillou, director of collections and conservation for the . “We’re fortunate enough to have a climate that’s mild compared to most of the United States, where we can grow so many different kinds.”