I am not sure how long M.Yunnanensis buds lasts, but my other Michelias ie.Alba and Figo last a day usually.. I have a M.yunnanesis with buds, but is a small plant and the buds appear to be in hibernation of sorts. I have also seen this kind of phenomeon with M. figo also. The plant had buds for months and all of a sudden they started to open and blom in succession..May be you can post a picture for us see and enjoy.

I don't grow M. yunnanensis, but maybe it has short-lived blooms like Magnolia figo. Maybe your gardening friend meant that the plant flowers in succession over a long period of time rather than individual blooms lasting a long time?

For me, Magnolia alba flowers easily last a good week and remain deliriously, beautifully scented the entire time, both night and day. I have one open bloom right now that is scenting my entire house.

I have a M. yunnanensis in flower at the moment and the flowers last a few days tops. Warm weather, wind and rain will accelerate the process of the petals dropping. Nothing to worry about, they seem quite hardy to me.

Oh! Thanks so much for the advice; so the blooms aren't supposed to last that long once they're opened in the first place. Now I feel a bit better - I thought I was doing something horrible to the plant for the blossoms to be shedding so quickly :)

I'll attempt to post some pics for you, radhavall, they're not very good as they were taken with my unsexy phone camera (and one was taken indoors, as it was very windy outside one night so i took the plant in). Hope this works.

[IMG]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e13/Kayinga/Photo213.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e13/Kayinga/Photo255.jpg[/IMG]

Well, that was pure picture-posting fail. Let's try that again.

Thank you..
So I have hope, that my plants will indeed one day bloom. Very nice pictures..and healthy looking plants.How long did you see the buds, before they start to grow and bloom?

Hi radhavall

I bought my Michelia from a garden shop and it had already developed buds. So unfortunately, I can't tell you what the normal space between buds forming and blooming is (maybe the others can help)? For me, I waited 2 weeks before the buds became blooms. I'm looking forward to next year!

Hi radhavall,

My plant had buds for what seemed many months before they flowered in mid spring. Don't know exactly how long though.

Thanks for the info... It will likely be in March, April that they will bloom...So a few months from now. will wait and post pictures when they bloom.
regards..