Please could you advise on Magnolia Bush problem?

bjazz28

Hi everyone,
I Hope you're enjoying your Summer (extended).
I was hoping to get your thoughts on a problem I am having with my new Magnolia bush. It is Magnolia Soulangeana which I got in mid Spring this year. I planted it up in a medium container with multipurpose compost. I put it in a sunny spot on the balcony, but when the leaves started to get singed at the start of Summer I moved it to a shady spot.
But then during the Summer season the leaves started going brown and dropping off a lot. I tried spraying with anti fungus spray which seamed to slow the rate of drop but it still kept happening.
Today; following online research I decided to prune the bush right back and also remove a lot more leaves, I also sprayed it again with anti fungus. Here is how it looks now:





I have placed it back on the balcony and I have no idea what is likely to happen now, to be honest I don't even know if this particular bush is set to shed all its leaves come Winter.

Does anyone have any thoughts on what I might expect from this bush, or did I make a mistake?
Thanks for reading,

cliff

Lyn

I hate to say it,  but Magnolias are very big hungry plants, suitable for the ground not small pots. 
That Lidl compost isn’t enough for it.  They like ericaceous/acid soil.  If you have a garden with acid soil I would plant it out now and give it chance to settle in before winter. 

bjazz28

Thank you Lyn for your quick response,

If I got some ericaceous compost and potted it up in that in a larger tub today do you think that that might help in the mean time?

Borderline

The plant looks fine to me. They lose their leaves in winter so at this time of year, especially young plants, they will start to drop some leaves and sometimes the leaves will not look perfect when they slowly die off. 

The container also needs to be larger too. Long term it should be planted in the ground. For now, use a loam-based compost like John Innes No 3. Mix in around a quarter of that with ericaceous compost. Add grit along the bottom of the pot to ensure good drainage. 

Watering trees/shrubs in containers needs to be consistent. Water thoroughly during the warm weather, making sure water pours out at the bottom. Water every 3 days if it’s warm. 

Lyn

bjazz28 said:

Thank you Lyn for your quick response,

If I got some ericaceous compost and potted it up in that in a larger tub today do you think that that might help in the mean time?

That will definitely help. 

bjazz28

Thank you Borderline and Lyn, 
It's off to B&Q then!
I have two tress in tubs, one of them is a Kanzan Cherry, and with a strict annual re-potting routine they keep going year on year. I don't know if I'll ever have a garden and so I will try to keep the Magnolias going in the same way as the trees.
 Hopefully by using the potting medium you have specified this will be possible.

Thanks very much,
cliff