British Columbia: Help! My new Magnolia tree is struggling :(

Maybe the post title is a bit dramatic...My Magnolia grandiflora 'Bracken's Brown Beauty' which was planted in March of 2023, is looking better than it did a couple months ago. But it seems to have some sort of pest/aphid that I need help with.

There were many yellow leaves (presumably from the stress of being planted in a new location, the wildly cold winter we had, and hopefully not because I dug it a tad too deep - don't worry, I am able to keep the root collar dry and open to the air by pushing the soil away from the base of the trunk periodically). Those yellow leaves have now mostly shed and have been replaced with new growth, however I just noticed some sort of pest or aphid is on almost all that new growth (see photos).

What should I do? Let it be? Spray with insecticidal soap? Other ideas??

Any help would be greatly appreciated. This was expensive and a lot of work to plant (including delivery this 5cm cal. tree was about $400) so I really hope I can keep it alive and eventually have it thriving!

 

The first thing to do is to post closer pictures.

 

I see at least 2 ants in the first photo and 3 in the second (photos in new tabs can be magnified to show the ants clearly). So, I would recommend getting rid of the ants as well as the aphids they are tending. Applying a band of Tree Tanglefoot on the trunk of the tree would keep the ants from returning. Insecticidal soap should work against the aphids.