One person's opinion is another person's fertilizer.

If you think it's too close, it's too close. No other opinion matters.

I doubt it's too big to move, but doubt you'd like the price, either in effort or dollars.

Too big to move in my opinion..., Magnolias do not transplant well as they are surface rooters and have very thick, rope-like roots.

Some trees cause more or less damage to homes and other structures. I would be tempted to leave it; but maybe other posters may be able to contribute regarding Magnolias and potential structural damage.

it was a huge mistake to put any kind of magnolia near our house

I am aware of no specific basis for this statement and you have not included what the particular problem was supposed to be so it is impossible to comment on that aspect.

As it is now the tree is just starting to be big enough to fill the space defined by that part of the house - although the way it is right in the center of the triangle the house produces, emphasizes and repeats the already emphatic pointedness present is not attractive to me. If you decide you can't stand it there, do go on to take the magnolia out a larger growing species of tree, less narrow and erect in habit placed more to the center of the house (or failing that, off to the side) would be more pleasing and effective. The house is very angular and would benefit from being softened visually by a tree of sufficient size.

If you are in a particularly hot climate the shade eventually produced by such a planting might be welcome also.

This is one of several reasons why I seem to be on a constant jeremiad against many American practitioners of so-called "landscape architecture". Perhaps 80% of large new residential construction in the eastern US has had such mindless plantings for at least the past 30 years. In places like McLean, VA, I've seen full size Cryptomeria japonica used as "foundation shrubs" for 2 million dollar McMansions! Driving through 15 years later, they've either been removed or the facade of the house looks like complete horticultural helter-skelter. I noticed when I was out in CA that it's a little less common there...anyhow I digress.

CLARIFICATION: OP suggests they made this planting themselves. In that case they can be forgiven their ignorance; they were only copying what they saw done at many other houses in their area. Which, as they've found out, is a bad idea down the road. My screed is directed at the fact that this is how many university-educated "professionals" do residential landscaping. (including the one I once worked for!)

Not sure why the undesirability of it is in question at all? The rest of the world, and for that matter the civilized cultivation of ornamental plants in the first 200 years of this country's history...did NOT put large trees right next to the facade of buildings on lots where it was otherwise possible to plant them further away. Even in colonial rowhouses along the east coast from Boston to Charleston, MOST frontal trees are in tree wells near the street, not right next to the building. And of course back then they needed them for shade, today we do not although of course large shade trees may have desirable impacts on energy consumption in summer.

With enough money you can move anything. If this were something super rare (comparatively) like an old Michelia figo, yes I'd try to move it. In this case it's a bog standard SE landscape plant, and buying even a very large replacement to put somewhere else in the yard has far more favorable economics.

Here's some background: when we moved into this little subdivision, EVERYONE had this set up: 2 Chinese hollies at the corners of the house with a crepe myrtle in the center (up against the house). Then they had a tree in the center of the front yard: either a maple, a Bradford pear or a Japanese maples. We got rid of the hollies and crepe myrtle and moved our Japanese maple to the back yard. Nearly everyone else's tree in the front yard has died or is dying.

We were new to the South and wanted to go Southern so we went to a local nursery that suggested white azaleas and the Little Gem. They planted it 6 feet from the house and I asked MANY times if that was far enough away. I was assured it wouldn't get much higher than 15 feet. I didn't like the azaleas (looked like wet toilet paper most of the time) ...in fact I've lost count of how many different plants we've tried in front. Year after year we've watched that magnolia grow and each year I wished it was further away from the house.

Here's how it first looked:

As for being told that it was a HUGE mistake to put it there, that was an extension service guy who seems to hate magnolias period. No matter that I said this was a Little Gem, he insisted it was too close. A very knowledgeable native plants guy said no, it's not going to be a problem roots-wise or anything--but now even he agrees that it's gotten too big that it's not attractive anymore (in that spot) and it ought to go.

The problem with planting a tree in the yard is that we have this #@!! bermuda grass, and any shade will cause it to die. So everyone who still has a tree in their front yard also has a pretty ugly yard. Some have done dreadful things--cutting off too many lower branches so that sun can get to the lawn--making the trees look like a lollipops.

SO, okay, we'll just have it chopped down and the roots removed (which will then probably destroy the mojo pittosporums we have planted around it. Guess I'll have to get some professional ideas of what to put there next. Sigh...

BTW, that's the garage where the tree is. Where we REALLY need a shade tree is right in the middle of the driveway: those #@!! arched windows let in so much heat during the summer, but the space in front of them is only about 3-4 feet wide. Plus there some important sewer thingy in the bed by the taller window.

Merely chopping down the tree would make your landscape look pretty bare, all of a sudden. I would try chopping the tree at half height first, not ideal of course, but maybe more passable than empty space. You can always chop it down completely later on.

I've seen people successfully prune little gem's to keep at 8-10' and narrow. But this has to be done seasonally and only if you know how to pune without it looking butchered. Yours is most likely too big to successfully prune back.

Its a shame to have to get rid of a beautiful tree. It's placement was not ideal, does not look good there.

Why don't you try limbing it up / cutting off the bottom branches? It would cut off the volume at the bottom, but still retain the height. Because it will no longer be all the way to the ground, it should feel lighter and airier.

Magnolias have a beautiful habit of having branches low to the ground, but take up a lot of real estate by doing so. Many people limb them up if they don't have sprawling properties that can accommodate the large footprint.

Have you taken a good sniff at those flowers? Sheer heaven and yours is quite the producer. Might have to open the upstairs window and lean out next summer.

Here we see them "laced out" very nicely by skilled hands to reduce some of the density. That is the term used here. It is necessary here because of strong winds. It might give you a few more years of enjoyment from it.

The thing about your arched windows needing shade, you might consider architecturally appropriate awnings for your windows. Helps a whole lot and it is instant relief, no need to wait for the tree to grow.

I doubt that it can be transplanted now without a tree spade. You can propagate a new one from a cutting, plant it in a more suitable place, then cut this one down. If you're really focused on keeping it, I guess you could prune all of the branches off of the back side to keep it from being up against the house.

I hate to say this--especially because your little gem looks so much fuller than mine, which were undercut and now are practically transparent--but, I think I'd remove it. (Hey: maybe we could swap?!) And the fullness at the bottom of yours isn't the problem (as I see it, anyway), it's the height and the overall width. I live in the South with a house that faces west, so I also get that part of your predicament! And, like you mentioned, we've planted and removed just about every kind of tree. Have you considered an October Glory maple in the middle of the yard? They're fast-growing and put on a spectacular show in late fall. To beat the heat we also had Vista window film professionally installed on the front windows, and it really makes a difference!

I have moved large magnolia trees...twice. They did just fine with LOTS of water for the first couple of years. But it will probably be expensive to do this - too big to hand dig.

I can't speak knowledgeably about Little Gem, but I was told many, many years ago by one of the most knowledgable plantsmen in our area, that one can prune a magnolia whenever one wants. Cut to your heart's content at Christmas!

I have a magnolia that is espaliered against the driveway side of the house. It's on the north side and it is VERY happy there. In fact, it is so happy that it grows up and covers my 2nd floor bedroom window. So, every Christmas, I have my grandson lean out the window (used to do this myself when I was younger!) and use lopers to top that tree. Now I have fresh, unblemished magnolia for my Christmas decorating! By the end of the summer, the window is once again covered.

Get someone out to top the tree and shape it up a bit. This is not like doing boxwood topiary! And if you hate the results by the end of summer, cut the tree down. I'm betting you'll like it - just keep pruning it to your desired shape and size.

FWIW as multiple people have started it absolutely can be moved with a tree spade - the cost of that is probably close to the cost of buying a replacement that will be this big in just a few years. So whether it can be done isn't really the issue, it's whether it makes sense to do it. Furthermore, in this particular case, I wonder if some contractors would be hesitant about using a tree spade so close to a residential foundation.

Anglophilla, you shouldn't top it.

Yes: all the rather casual suggestions here of topping, limbing up, thinning out etc. made here are not good ones. Tree is as attractive as it can be the way it is now, with a natural shape and density. If existing appearance and size is unappealing to OP then it should just be taken out.

I have seen a 'Little Gem' over 40 ft. tall in California. As I remember it the original seedling variant upon which the cultivar was based was not particularly short either (I read an illustrated article about it in the Magnolia Society bulletin many years ago).

Just how close to the house is this tree? There's no information about that and no way to know from the photo.

The OP said 6' in his/her second posting with the photo of the young tree. But even if the tree was planted 12' from the house, I doubt very much that the aesthetics would change at all. A more asymmetrical placement of the tree would look much better. I know that this does not help the OP at all :-(

BTW, I don't think that any of the proposed solutions are bad per se. None of them are perfect, of course, they are all kind of best-under-the-given-circumstance solutions, but perhaps one or the other proposed solution may be workable for the OP.

"Yes: all the rather casual suggestions here of topping, limbing up, thinning out etc. made here are not good ones."

exactly - nothing can fix a tree that was placed that poorly!

"nothing..." is a bit radical

Thanks all. Wish I had time to reply individually to all of you. But the tree somehow naturally did not put out branches touching the house which is kind of odd (to me a know-nothing). I can slide behind it when I put up the Christmas wreathes up--although the one on the left is all but hidden by the tree.

I am resigned to removing it and starting over. Someone suggested an October Glory maple--that's what we had in our back yard and it was beautiful until it finally sickened and died on us. I don't know what those contractors did, but as I said, nearly every tree planted 12-13 years ago when this subdivision was built has died. (It could be because there's nothing but chirt under a thin layer of topsoil.) They also placed them in awkward places too.

Should I start a new post "What would you put here?" I really need to keep the cost down because we have so many thing INSIDE the house we'd rather be doing. I'm not looking for show-stopping, just pleasant and easy-care--and something that can survive extremes in weather. And preferably a native.

removal is a good decision ....

and unless you need that exact specific spot ... i would just cut it flush with the ground and treat it with killer ... and be done with it ...

i would not invest more money in a lost cause ...

if you get it flat enough.. you can put a Grecian urn on the stump .... lol

ken

If you want a big deciduous shade tree - much bigger than the magnolia - the maple will provide that.

Embothrium, the problem is our bermuda grass: everyone who has a tree in the front has lousy grass and roots showing and just plain dirt all around the tree line (if that's the right term). Some try to circle with bricks and other things but they never look good or last for long as the roots mess them up. I miss the grass we had in Chicago! If I could afford it, I'll kill off all this bermuda and go with fescue. Some have tried to tell me that fescue would never grow here, but there are plenty of neighborhoods in Birmingham--the older ones, plus all the park areas--that have fescue and it's fine. Weeds don't stand out like a sore thumb as they do when the bermuda goes dormant.

Well, apparently my magnolia that has been topped annually for over 25 years, didn't get the message about "no topping". Topping has made it bushier and it could not be a healthier tree. We had an ice stir. Here 8 years ago, and the storm "topped" a newer magnolia. It's a much nicer shape than its mate, planted at the same time but not affected by the ice storm. Power company topped two under the power lines last summer - they look fine.

I'm very aware that topping a tree is rarely a good idea, but one most certainly can do a grandiflora magnolia with no harm and many benefits.

But is yours a Little Gem? It's the Little Gem that is meant to have a pointed top and I'm told it just doesn't look right topped.

You should never remove the central leader of any tree.

==>>>http://www.treesaregood.com/treecare/resources/WhyToppingHurts.pdf

==>>>http://www.plantamnesty.org/the-myth-of-tree-topping

==>>>http://www.plantamnesty.org/don-t-top-5-reasons-not-to-top

==>>>https://plumtreetrading.blogspot.com/2016/10/avoid-these-common-pruning-mistakes.html

Please do not come here with a professional title and mislead gardenweb users. I have a professional profile too and I'll login to it if I have to.

" It's the Little Gem that is meant to have a pointed top and I'm told it just doesn't look right topped."

I am not Anglo, but the tree itself is perfectly OK, what is not OK is the mismatch of the tree to the house. With respect, on the photo of the OP, the pointed tree and pointed roofline look like an arrow shaft and an arrowhead. Anything you can do to avoid or soften the 'arrow shaft - arrowhead' appearance will improve the aesthetics. It is not the best solution, but yes, you can shorten the existing tree (to break the visual connection to the roofline) AND shape the tree with a rounded top (again to break the unfortunate visual connection to the roofline as much as possible).

If you decide for a replacement tree, make sure that you get a tree with a rounded crown and place it sufficiently asymmetrical relative to the roofline.

Please, read the content. You shouldn't remove the central leader of a tree. Ever. Under ANY circumstance.

There are no absolute rules like that.

It isn't going to have a good result, and WILL negatively impact the tree.

Where trees kill off grass the solution is to make a bed instead of trying to retain lawn.

Hey everybody: We're resigned to getting rid of the tree, so let's stop arguing about whether it can be topped or not. I'm going to start a new thread with suggestions for what should go there.

Get a landscape plan. forget about asking for opinions, because everyone has one and they are worth what they cost. find someone who is willing to work with you rather than taking the my way or highway approach. that being said, if you find a professional who seems to insist on something you're not sure if...ask why.

I suggest what has been seen to work. There are design concepts that are generally applicable, based on shared visual perceptions. For example the pointed and narrow magnolia being right in the center of the pyramidal house outline making the whole look like an arrowhead or strung bow.

Just for clarification, you may want a small tree, like a japanese maple instead of something large and evergreen.

So...after saying I was resigned to getting rid of the tree, we went down to the (mostly) native plants nursery to look at the dwarf tea olive--which was a disappointing 2-3 feet high. We spoke with the owner about how he had said it should never be topped, and this time he said, "That's if you want it to have it's natural pyramidal form." But in our case he was somewhat encouraging about at least trying out topping it--no more than 1/3--and also "lacing" it as "hoovb" mentioned earlier.

My only issue is that he said it would grow wider, and one of the lower windows is already half covered. It's the garage so doesn't matter view-wise, but I don't like to have windows covered.