Magnolia Tree - young leaves dying
vedran.engelbreht
Posts: 3
Hi all,
I was gifted a Magnolia Genie in June 2018. The tree was initially planted in suitable pot and replanted in current position in the ground in October 2018. Not sure of age but tree is 1.8m tall.
Last summer all leaves dried and fell off. Only flower buds remained dormant over winter. Last few weeks young leaves start sprouting and flower buds opening. Unfortunately all leaves are affected by brown discoloration with some of them dying undeveloped. The flower buds have some brown discoloration too.
The magnolia is planted in a spot which receives at least 6hrs of sun and in well drained soil.
Any advice to what’s happening to the tree and how to proceed would be much appreciated.
Many thanks in advance
Ved
I was gifted a Magnolia Genie in June 2018. The tree was initially planted in suitable pot and replanted in current position in the ground in October 2018. Not sure of age but tree is 1.8m tall.
Last summer all leaves dried and fell off. Only flower buds remained dormant over winter. Last few weeks young leaves start sprouting and flower buds opening. Unfortunately all leaves are affected by brown discoloration with some of them dying undeveloped. The flower buds have some brown discoloration too.
The magnolia is planted in a spot which receives at least 6hrs of sun and in well drained soil.
Any advice to what’s happening to the tree and how to proceed would be much appreciated.
Many thanks in advance
Ved
0
Posts
Early morning sun will do it.
What is your soil type?
I think some magnolias are more "fussy" with the ph levels than others.
Some like a little more acidity, and that could be part of the problem.
This is shown by yellow leaves like yours has.
Look up your magnolia type and see if it is listed as needing more acidity. You can buy and use a feed especially for this and see if it helps.
Also check up on Sequestered Iron which I understand is used as a booster for this problem and also look up Epsom salts.
There may be several contributing factors, so any question you can answer will help to give more advice.
Also did you water your plant last year to help it establish, it was dry at times so may have been lack of water contributing.
Firstly many thanks on your prompt response and advices.
I am based in Essex and this is my first magnolia - actually my first garden to be honest with you.
I was under impression that magnolias are resistant to frost so didn’t worry much when frost was forecasted two weeks ago.
Regarding soil type, haven’t checked it yet but it looks like I will have to do it ASAP if I want to keep my plants healthy.
Ved
There is frost damage, but the leaves are tatty and very yellow, so follow Rubytoo's advice on the sequestered iron. You may need to lay more organic matter over the planting area to hold moisture in and continue to water it through the warmer months. Six hours of sun for a young tree like a Magnolia at this time of year means, it will dry out pretty quick.
Example, the next few days we are expecting temperatures around 22C. That is when I would look into watering deeply. 4-5 litres slowly into the base area. Water in the early mornings or evenings to get the best from the watering. That done once a week and a little more frequent if temperatures get much higher. You can ease off if there is rain in between and into the autumn/winter months.
The more mulch you put down in spring the better it will be for your plant roots. Not only are the roots less stressed, they are able to deal with hotter temperatures and have less weed growth competing with it.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I'm having a similar problem with mine. I dug it up from 1 area of the garden & kept it in a pot for just short of 2 years. I have re-planted it in Oct (19) & it is now losing all its leaves. They started going yellow & brown & then dropping off. It is almost leave less now. The furry buds are still remaining but do come loose when touched. I have scraped a branch gently & there is still healthy green in the branch but concerned the move has been too much or possibly a problem where I have put it. The soil is clay & I'm wondering whether it is getting root rot. Would I cause more distress if I dug down around the roots, checked them & added a better compost/peat to improve drainage or am I best to leave it over the winter & hope new life comes in spring?? Any tips would be great as I'm quite a new gardener. I had it looking so lovely in the pot as well! It's a similar size to the one described & pictured above.
If the new planting hole was well prepped, and it was planted at the same level as in the pot, it should be ok. I'm also assuming it had been well cared for in the pot.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...