Last year in August I posted a photo of the Magnolia Grandiflora in flower. This year I have been waiting for it impatiently to flower. On the plant ‘open day’ I asked one of the gardeners what caused the flower to open so much later than the other magnolias.
He pointed out that the grandiflora is an evergreen whereas the others are deciduous. That’s not an explanation in itself, but it does explain why there might be differences in the flowering season.
At the moment there are four flowers on the tree, with another one that has gone already. Looking at the crop below you can see that within a day or two of opening, the flower is already starting to lose bits of itself.
Of course – you the reader cannot tell how big the flower is from the photo. So – it is about as wide as a desert plate.
Update
Here is a newly opened flower on the same tree that I photographed on about the 21st July this year.
Photograph Works 