ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Springtime is around the corner for the Flower City. The lilac bushes in Highland Park usually get the most attention, but when can we expect the magnolia trees to bloom?

News10NBC went to Highland Park to speak with Mark Quinn, the county’s superintendent of horticulture, for answers.

“They will probably be the third week of April. That’s my guess,” Quinn said.

These are some of the dozens of varieties of magnolias at Highland Park. Right now, the buds are all green and closed up, but in about a month they will bloom into beautiful shades of reds, pinks, and yellows.

“Good years, you know, you want them to bloom and then you want it to be 45 and 50 degrees without a wind and they stay for a long time,” Quinn said. “And they can stay for weeks. But you know, they also can have a 30-mile-an-hour wind and a thunder shower and it knocks them down pretty quickly.”

Oxford Street, between Monroe Avenue and Park Avenue, might be home to Rochester’s most famous magnolia trees. In fact, the trees are even the namesake of Magnolia’s Café right on Park Avenue. The spectacular magnolia blooms are an opening act for the Lilac Festival.

“Typically, I think the magnolias bloom anywhere from a month to two weeks before the festival,” Quinn said. “So, if it’s two weeks before the festival, we’re talking the end of April month. It’s the middle of April and that’s pretty typical and again. It’s about whether we have warm weather.”

If we have a prolonged period of warmth, that could affect the timing. Different varieties will bloom at different times. For example, stellatas, with the smaller petals, will bloom much earlier and saucer magnolias, with the larger petals, will bloom later in the season.

Quinn says that some of the magnolia trees in Highland Park are close to 100 years old.

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