As someone who grew up in Houston, I've seen Mags get enormous (35-40 ft). That said, with pruning, your's will provide nice shade and shouldn't be a problem. I don't know what specific type of Mag you have though, sorry....

If it is not one of the dwarf strains, from the looks of your yard, I wouldn't think it would get too huge, as all the really huge ones I have seen have a larger grow space. Combine that with frequent pruning on the side facing the structure and it probably won't grow over 15-20 feet... but I could be wrong about that. But I wouldn't worry about where it is at as long as you prune it back on the side facing the structure frequently.

Oh yeah, the flowers on Mags are magnifico.

cheers,
J

I think they are too close to the house and should be dug up and moved out. Those windows will look into a cave.

Yep, they're in the wrong place. Question is, is there a right place, and what do you want to accomplish with them. The builder wanted a nice evergreen blob there and so put them there without regard to what they are intended to be "when they grow up."

So in fact, you're not in a rush to move them--they won't take over the house overnight and they look fine--meaning green and all--right now. It's a good time to make an overall PLAN and think if there's a role for the magnolias in that plan as well as what you would do with the new opportunities in the front beds. You only want to move them once.

Absolutely too close. Move them ASAP. if they have only been in the ground a year you might still have a chance to move them without killing them. I wouldn't wait.
How much space do you have in the yard? They do look like grandiflora to me, 'Little Gem' has leaves that are more vertical and show off their brown velvety undersides. If you've got the room Magnolias are beautiful trees.

Here's my Magnolia tree, np's for 10/12 years now..
{{gwi:7974}}

All these different opinions probably have you scratching your head!

FWIW - I've gardened under a mature Magnolia - it has a 30' spread - that was planted about 10 feet from the house originally and has been pruned to cover half the (small) backyard, providing a shady deck plus quite full growing beds beneath. The plants growing all love the shade, obviously, but grow quite well with minimum added water.

I'd likely move your trees because what the heck are they doing directly in front of the windows???

Probably just re-arranging the plants that are already there - including the magnolia(s) - would do you for some years.

In my climate 'Little Gem' often has problems with foliage mildew and may also break under wet snow or even freeze (as happened to multiple previously pretty good-looking ones near me this winter). You may get different results.

Thanks for all the responses. I decided to go ahead and move the Magnolias. I moved one to the middle of the front yard and I think it looks good. The other one is still there pending a decision on what to do with it. Thanks again.

Weighing in late, but yes they are too close. I cannot understand what builders & even landscapers are thinking of when they place trees and what will become large shrubs only 2-3' from a house. Don't they realize plants grow, like kids, and what they are doing is exactly like expecting an 18 yr old to continue to squeeze into the same shoes you bought him when he was 3?

Go to a good online nursery catalog, or a university site, such as the U of Missouri's, and examine various tree & shrub cultivars & their mature heights & widths. The U of Texas probably has one, too. At least you will get an idea of what different species will be like when mature!

You can also begin to choose for yourself what kind of shrub or small tree you might like growing in that space. It needs to be happy in Houston's climate, and not get too tall or wide, and maybe you would like flowers or scent and things like that, too.

BTW the other shrubs are also all too close to the house, column, etc. They all need to be brought out several feet farther from the structure. The soil right next to the house is always very dry and their roots cannot get enough moisture there. And, if they do live, they will get overgrown, that close to the building. That "little" bush next to the walk is going to always have to be trimmed back or it will scrape peoples' legs, and it will lose its nice natural shape.

You can use some perennials or annuals as "filler" for a few years while waiting for the shrubs to fill in, after you have moved them. You will be surprised; you do not have to wait nearly as long as you would think!

Thanks for the response ofionnachta. And IÂll definitely check out the websites you mentioned. I am trying to figure out what to plant but didnÂt really want to post yet another "can someone give me recommendations on what to plant" message, especially considering theyÂre so many variables that go into that question, including just personal preference. This area gets full sun nearly all day and it gets quite hot here so I donÂt have just unlimited possibilities.

Also, thanks for the recommendation to move the plants a little further from the foundation. Since I am already digging around in the bed, IÂll go ahead and do that as well.

What is the appropriate distance to plant "Little Gem" Magnolia from the house?

Mature spread can be 12-15' so no closer than half that distance. Personally, I'd opt for a bit farther out.

btw, previous info about evergreen magnolias with branches sweeping the ground and never pruning are somewhat misleading. Like any other tree, these can be limbed up....they are used as street trees here and are routinely limbed up in those instances. And Little Gem in particular is often espaliered or grown in containers, both situations that require frequent pruning - they handle it perfectly well.

Good information!! Thank you...I had wondered about the pruning as well. I can go out that far at least 8'.

Sounds like if they are espaliered they sometimes put them against the wall?

Or pretty close to it :-) Espaliering is just turning a 3 dimensional plant into a 2 dimensional one via training and pruning.

My understanding was it is the roots that need that 7'-8' distance not to undermine the house.

You do see them grown against house walls over here. Some are 2 or 3 hundred years old dating from their first introduction. They were planted right against the walls, much less than 8 feet. It was believed they needed the warmth from the walls. But you don't see that much these days.

Tree roots seldom undermine a house. If your foundation is structurally sound, any roots that may encounter it will just turn and go in another direction. They are not strong enough to bore through a solid concrete foundation :-)

Most foundation issues are due to soil subsidence or swelling and shrinkage due to water retention, not with tree roots. Although any tree roots can and often will take advantage of a cracked, crumbling or otherwise structurally unsound foundation.

btw, tree roots will typically extend far beyond the canopy spread so even that 7-8' distance is no reliable measure of how far they could expand.

Magnolias are very difficult to prune because they sucker snd send up water sprouts like crazy. If someone has a trick for doing it, please share. Otherwise, be forewarned about thinking you can keep a magnolia shaped to fit a space.

Kitasei, that may be the case with the saucer types or other deciduous magnolias but I have never encountered suckering or water sprouts with any grandifloras. And they do get pruned rather heavily in my climate, both to keep the size in check and because of breakage with our rare but very heavy, wet snows.

Right Gardengal, .I was just gona offset for the obvious reason of keeping the limbs off the house. I agree, roots will turn..however I guess a shallow concrete porch with only 4 inch pour might possibly buckle over time.

Dear Gardengal, you certainly seem to know about magnolias! I live in the UK with a rather large grandiflora that's now reaching the windows of the first floor of our house. I have read so much but I still don't actually know how to prune it. It's only about 2 metres or so from the house and I am now starting to get worried!! Information on how to maintain them seems rather sparse to say the least. Grateful for any advice. Many thanks Zed

Zed, I'm sorry but I really don't know how to advise you further. Evergreen magnolias come in a very wide range of sizes, from very compact dwarf varieties like Teddy Bear/'Southern Charm' that will only top out at around 15-20' to behemoths like the species (60'+) or 'D.D. Blanchard' at 35-40'. And there are a few cultivars grown in the UK that are not readily available here. So unless you know what cultivar you have and how large it can be expected to get, it is hard to say how well it can be pruned to keep in scale with your garden and not overwhelm your house. But photos would help.

I can say that it is far easier to keep the width in check than it is the height. Side branches can be pruned back as required but you can't keep a tree significantly shorter than it wants to be without affecting its long term heath and appearance.

Thanks Gardengal. that's really helpful. All I know is that it's a southern magnolia, ie., Grandiflora. I will try and take some photos tomorrow and send if that's ok :)

Dear Gardengal- I have attached a couple of photos although I don't know why they are coming up side ways. Excuse the mess- we are trying to get organised!

hmmm, not actually sure you can see the photos- I certainly can't...

I can't either :-) Try again. And make sure to allow time for a full download so the photo loses any gray tones and becomes very defined before hitting submit. It can take a bit.....