Cutting the leader off a Magnolia grandiflora

10 years ago

Hi
I have a Magnolia grandiflora that is growing way too close to an apple tree and because of that, its leader has grown weak and twisted, trying to get more light, no doubt. I'd like to know how this tree will react if I cut the leader off and bring the length of the tree down by 3 feet or so. I'd cut right above a pair of strong shoots. Will it branch out and bush out, as other specimens do, or are Magnolias different? It is spring now and so I reckon this is the best time of year for this? Many thanks.

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Comments (8)

Dzitmoidonc
10 years ago
From what I've seen, one of the side branches will curve upwards to try to replace the taken top. The term applied to a tree like this is a proper British-ism... monstrous! Apple is not a big tree, so I assume the Magnolia is also small? If there is only room for one tree, shoehorning 2 into that spot will never look right to me, but then again, I'm 4000km away and can't see it from my window.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
10 years ago
impossible to give any definitive advice.. w/o a picture ...

old apple trees can be huge.. relatively speaking.. but if it is small as suspected above.. why not move it in fall ....

its a tree.. it will re-leader forever .... this will not be a once and done topping of the tree ... so perhaps we can find other options ... with a pic

ken
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
10 years ago
Magnolias, like most other flowering shade trees, do not produce a distinct leader. Many varieties have a habit that is often much more like a very large shrub, but even with a clear trunk and then structural branching, these plants exhibit a decurrent (leaderless) growth habit.

It would be helpful to have a photo to see exactly what's going on but removing the offending branch such as you described is unlikely to disfigure the tree or seriously alter its growth habit. It's a huge assumption to think the outcome would be anything close to "monstrous"
Dzitmoidonc
10 years ago
Gardengal, have you ever seen a M. grandiflora with a newly growing leader? And I should send you a pic of the M. grandiflora and ask if you can see that it definitely has a central leader. Granted, some of the side branches are nearly as long, but they are definitely growing more laterally than vertical. For you to say that many varieties are like a large bush says that either you are not used to seeing large Magnolias or that you cannot see the leader for the side branches. Either way, it is wrong to say that very many Magnolia trees are large shrubs. True for the most commonly planted ones, the Star Magnolias and the liliflora hybrids, but how about acuminata, ashei, grandiflora, macrophylla and many others.

So far as using the word monstrous, I shall be sure to run it by you before I use descriptors like that again so you won't get your knickers in a twist.
Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
10 years ago
My magnolia grandiflora through the years.

Carol in Jacksonville

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tlbean2004
7 years ago
Gorgeous! A lot of southern magnolias do seem to have a central leader.
brandon7 TN_zone7
7 years ago
They more than seem to have a central leader! Many types of magnolias develop and retain a dominant central leader.
tlbean2004
7 years ago
Thats what i thought but gardengal said that they do not. I was conflicted because her responses always seem very educated.

Cutting the leader off a Magnolia grandiflora

Comments (8)

Dzitmoidonc

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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