Shaping a Magnolia

ZeroZero1

I have just purchased and planted a new Magnolia Soulangea. It's about 6 ft tall and seems healthy. My eventual aim is to get a mature tree, I expect this one is about 5 years old and still "pre-pubescent" in shape. it has a lot of shoots coming from the bottom on the plant (some maybe from below the rootstock - does it have a roootstock?)

i want it to become some kind of tree shape, rather than shrub/bush shape

Any advixe please. i would give a photo but its pitch black outside

How does one convert it? 

Ladybird4

Some magnolias are grafted and you need to look carefully for a thickened area as shown here:

Ladybird4

Any shoots below that thickened scar can be removed. Magnolias do not like being pruned and any cutting you may do to a magnolia might lead to the growth of many fast growing, upright shoots known as water shoots. These need to be removed as soon as possible.

ZeroZero1

Here are a couple of pics of my magnolia - as you can see it is in good health but has a lot (too many?) of shoot coming from base

ZeroZero1

As you can see Ladybird - my tree/shrub looks nothing like your pic and the rootstock is hard to indentify....any more advice please? 

Ladybird4

I think you could remove the newish upright green shoots. by taking them off the old wood that they are growing from.

ZeroZero1

thanks - my thoughts too

Ladybird4