Holy crap.

That is 4 times bigger than I would have ever imagined.
How old are they?
Are they M. figo?
Here I was going to buy some more and expecting them to fit in a 7' x 7' space.

The flowers definitely look like a M. figo. Nice looking plant.

They didn't just grow to this size in a few years, I'm sure. This is in a very warm, humid part of south Georgia on a plantation owned by a private foundation. I expect planting of the michelias dates back to no later than the 1940s.

You'll probably be safe in planting in a smaller space, CW.

The fragrance was incredible (better than bananas). They're just coming into bloom, not many buds were open.

Nell

Well I guess in 60 years I'll be dead and gone and it'll be somebody else's problem!
My yard'll be a jungle by then!
An extremely fragrant jungle.

Thanks for the photo! The ones I've seen in Austin were about 5 or 6 feet tall - I can't believe they'd ever grow that big here. Since the blossoms on my Michelia are still at the 15 to 18 inch level, I won't worry about space until I can inhale that scent while standing up instead of kneeling on the ground.

Annie

Wow, that is a monster!!! I planted a M. figo just off my front porch three years ago after transplanting it from my previous home, where it had remained fairly small. It really liked its new location, because it has grown surprisingly fast and is now at least 10 feet high with a big spread. In fact, it has really outgrown its space, and I'm having a hard time facing the fact that I need to prune it. I want to see just how big it would get!