ljmmus, Only water once a week, and when you do, water deeply. Leave a real small sprinkler on it, you can buy a round one cheap, and really soak it for awhile, really early in the morning, really early, or after dinner. I think you are watering it too much. 2-3 times a week seems excessive, and are there stones in the pic? Where are these stones? You have a good 2-3 inches of pine mulch around the base of this tree, right? You aren't using stones as mulch, are you? If you are, get them away from the tree, and put down some pine bark mulch for your magnolia. A good perimeter around it, the roots are shallow on this tree, it needs mulch, not stones. The stones will fry your tree. Seriously.

Perhaps 'unethical' is a better term than 'illegal'.....although illegality will still come into play with any patented cultivars even if it is highly unlikely the plant police will come knocking on your door :-) The issue is that with most woody plants - and my previous comments were directed only at these - named cultivars seldom (like hardly ever) come true from seed. Even if they look identical to the parent there is no guaratee that they are or will remain looking so throughout their lifespan. Assigning the cultivar name to seedlings of that cultivar - rather than those that have been vegetatively propagated - and introducing them into commerce just distorts and dilutes the validity of that cultivar. We see this all the time with seed grown "cultivars" of Japanese maples, 'Bloodgood' being at the top of the list. As much as they may look like Bloodgoods, they are a just a red leafed version of Acer palmatum. Nothing wrong with seed grown JM's.......or Magnolia grandiflora or any of countless other named cultivars of most other tree species. This is often where new cultivars arise.....a random seedling that offers some unique attributes. But it is never valid/appropriate/ethical (and in the case of a patented plant, legal) to call these seedlings by the parent cultivar name.

its not a deer issue ... its decline started at planting ... how was it potted.. you have that famous GA clay?? .. what did you do to the planting hole ... can you pull back the mulch and show us the root flare??? how has it been watered since planting ... anything extraordinary about winter ... if its in a prime location ... i would move it out back where i did not have to look at it all the time ... it might come back ... but i dont want to watch it ...lol ... if you have a warranty ... go for it ... frankly i would go no more than half that size.. less stress all around ... but one thing for sure... i would NOT be planting anything this time of year ... in my MI.. let alone GA .... fall or winter replacement .. though you could buy the plant now.. if need be ... see link for general guide.. check out planting.. and watering.. and let us know if and how you varied from such ... also check proper planting time ... ken

WOW...I never got notice of these replies. Wonder what I have turned off? Anyway, Gardengal 48 thank you for hope for this. I will try to address some of the questions. I am planning to use root pruning bags, at least 30 Gal in 3'x3'x3' cube fiberglass containers. May even have a dead air space for insulating against heat. They will be within a yard, not on street and within view of the main house and entrance drive. Facing east so hopefully spared the worst of the sun. There is another magnolia on the property, likely another little gem. Doing well on iffy irrigation system. This is a landscape I took over a couple years back and that is the weak link. However I am there 3 days a week and can definately spot water when needed. There are also straws in pots that we made thru the horrific heat of last summer. I have handles on the grow bags and now researching the best constructed ones out there so if need be I can lift out of the container. They are root pruning bags however, so perhaps that won't be necessary? Any advice on grow bags would also be appreciated. And yes the viburnum a goners...splits in bark to the ground...one or two sprouts but not significantly rebounding. Multi million dollar home...need to put as right as possible as quickly as possible without making stupid mistakes. Why I am here... Thank you so much for these responses. I hope you are still connected. I'll check back!