I planted a new Susan Magnolia earlier this Spring, courtesy of Vancouver's $10 tree sale. I did a lot of work to prep the bed ahead of time, and the tree seemingly flourished, putting out a lot of growth in its first year. In the last two weeks, since the rains made a sudden comeback, it's immediately started to struggle. The newest leaves are showing die-off and brown spots are developing on all the foliage. This doesn't look like Fall changes to me, but rather appears to be something fungal? Am I right in that assumption? Magnolias are totally new to me, so I have experience to work from on this. Thanks in advance for any advice!
I would not be alarmed by the changes you observe on the leaves of your new magnolia tree. If you suspect something fungal, a good strategy would be to bag all the fallen leaves you can and dispose of them outside your garden in the organic disposal or whatever. Once the tree has settled in next year, I suspect it will be perfectly fine.
