Build a Bouquet with Magnolias

Flowers of the Field
Sep 5, 2020
2 min read

Title: "Bouquet Essentials: Magnolias" in purple with hand-drawn magnolias in the background. Gold border, watercolor purple background. — @bridalbuilder

Magnolia is our #6 most-popular flower, tied with last week's featured flower, the forget-me-not! For a recap on how we find out which flowers are most popular in a bouquet, click here.

What are Magnolias?

A brunette bride holds her bouquet in front of her and looks over her shoulder. Her bouquet is full of large, white magnolias and various foliage. She stands in front of a large tree. — Photo credit: @kaliemcassady with @inbloomflorist

According to Wikipedia, magnolias are an ancient flower with hearty centers. They appear to have evolved so that beetles could pollinate them. Magnolias are a type of spreading, deciduous tree with large, fragrant, bowl-shaped or star-shaped flowers (we'll refer to the flowers as magnolias in this post because that's how brides often think of them and refer to them). The magnolia grandiflora is the most commonly-known species of magnolia for US brides, as it is native to the southern United States.

What do you need to know about magnolias in a bouquet?

Growing season

Magnolias will bloom before their leaves grow, then produce fruits in autumn. For the purposes of getting cut flowers for a bouquet, magnolias are a spring flower.

A bride holds her bouquet in front of her waist. The bouquet has a wide variety of white and off-white flowers, including magnolias, roses, and berries. The foliage is dark green leaves. — Photo credit: @k.occassions

Color variety

According to Wikipedia, magnolias can come in a wide variety of colors, such as the following:

White
Pink
Purple
Green
Yellow

Bloom size

The southern US magnolia can have flowers up to 30cm (12in) across, according to Wikipedia. This means that one flower can fill up a lot of space in a bouquet, so magnolias have the potential to help maintain your flowers budget for the big day. Ask your florist about the impact using magnolias in your bouquet could have on the price of your bouquets.