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Issues with newly planted Magnolia Little Gem Leaves

2 years ago

last modified: 2 years ago

Hi, I planted Magnolia Little Gem (dwarf variety of southern Magnolia) 3 weeks ago, in full sun location and in a clay soil. We had heavy rains for 2 weeks so I thought the rain would do the job establishing the tree itself but then this happened.

Brown dots and discolored leaves on edges are showing. I'm trying to figure out what caused it so i'm hoping if you could help me.

It looks healthy in distance with new leave buds showing but the dots are ruining it. There are also a small hedge on the left and garden bed on the right with no issues so i'm certain nothing is wrong with the soil.

Can't provide zone as i don't live in the US sorry. it's spring here at the moment.

Thanks

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Comments (5)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
2 years ago
zone is useless... how about a big city name ...

how did you plant it ... did you water it at all when you planted it???

does your clay drain when you dig a planting hole???

take a hand trowel or tablespoon and dig a small hole 3 to 6 inches down.. AND FIND OUT if there is moisture at root level ... or if there is to much

ken
AI AI thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
2 years ago
IMO, your new tree looks fine. Maybe just a bit of slight transplant shock and some physiological damage from handling, transporting and planting but nothing serious or with a need to resolve.

I would caution about relying just on rainfall for watering new plantings. It is rarely sufficient to provide enough moisture at depth, so you will need to check periodically to see how moist the soil surrounding the rootball and the rootball itself may be. And always water in thoroughly after planting.

As long as you know that evergreen magnolias are hardy for your location, we don't need to know zone or large city or anything else :-)) The new planting aftercare will be the same regardless.
AI AI thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
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AI AI
Original Author
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Ken, I live in Melbourne Australia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Melbourne

The hole was dug wide, filled in half bucket water into the hole before planting, back filled soil and filled in 9L (2.3gallon) water diluted with liquid seaweed then fertilized it. I was thinking what if over watering caused it to have powdery mildew/other fungu disease?

I saw the weather updates and it was going to rain, it didn't stop for 2 weeks so i left it in its own. The top soil is moist so the reason why i felt hesitant to water it.
AI AI
Original Author
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
gardengal, thank you I feel a bit optimistic reading your post. Magnolias are very popular in our city and it's beautiful so i decided to plant it as a feature tree next to the driveway.

I regretted not checking the soil and assumed the rain would do the job. Thanks again, I will check them.
AI AI
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
Hi again,

I want to share an update. So far, it is healthy but I was not happy that it shed a lot of leaves in summer and now it looks a bare stick. I was hoping for it to be bushy and dense.

It's winter now and i'm going to do lots of pruning but i'm not sure where to start with this one seeing there's a lot of conflicting answers saying it will lose its natural shape but i don't mind that.

Would pruning each branch back to 4-6 inch stimulate growth all over? Will fertilize also. How can I encourage them to branch out in the middle stem?

Thanks

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