We have an Apollo Magnolia that is about 12 years old, and has thrived until this spring. The flower buds have turned brown, with a few exceptions, and the tree appears about half dead, although some branches are showing good leaf. The tree lost a large branch from wind this winter. The main stem and some branches seem to be oozing black sap. I've attached pictures of a) typical flower browning and dying and b) the stem oozing sap. Any ideas what causes this? I can't see any signs of bugs and no growths or canker on the branches, just a general deterioration in the flowering and leaves.
Is the damaged portion near the base of the tree trunk? In the past had a similar problem with magnolias planted in full sun. Not really sure what caused it , bark split from winter sun , sap starting to come up then hard frosts at night, high rainfall combined with incompatible rootstalk, or whatever. Seems they do better if the trunks are shaded here. Similar problem with a few other young trees , various species. Of the magnolias which failed, the grafted top portion died , then the root stock sent up growth which did not seem to have similar problems. Guess they were about 7-9 year old trees.
Other than the seepage of some kind of black sap from some splits in the trunk, the damage seems to be to the branches, ie. the browning of the blossoms and leaves. I expect the seepage may be related, as I don't recall seeing that before. Whatever is causing the dark sap may also be causing the general malaise? Hugh.
Not sure , but if the main trunk is damaged badly it will likely be vulnerable to wind damage, blowing over if surviving , in the future. Is the bark split mainly on the sides exposed to the sun? The blossoms, leaves, and branches are not getting the sap required due to the split bark. Is the bark split at the base of the trunk? Like 6'' to 2' from the ground?
The sap and splits aren't really near the ground, I would say a foot or more and higher. I've added two more pictures, one of a seepage at a branch intersection, and a picture of the tree overall. The base of the tree seems reasonably sound, though I'd have to check it again in daylight to be sure. There is a large branch missing, visible as a black area part way up the large right hand branch, due to wind damage. I sprayed it with black tree wound paint when it happened several months ago. Hugh.
Don't know an easy remedy when the trunk bark is split like that, maybe an arborist could advise. Hopefully, its not serious enough to kill the tree or weaken it too much. Bridge grafting comes to mind . Had a M. 'Butterflies' that had a similar problem, seemed to heal itself, removed the dead wood, then it blew over 3 years later, breaking at the healed trunk. The year it would have first bloomed. Maybe if it had been staked better it might have survived. Would be nice to be certain of the cause. The trunk seems to be supporting a lot of top growth, wonder if it may be related to the problem. Seems like Victoria gets a fair amount of wind at times. Some participants on here may be able to advise.
Was looking at what appears to be bark split on the tree, maybe cherry, left side of second pic? Magnolia doesn't seem as badly split.
Found I had a better picture of trunk, and it does show splits near the bottom. The other tree in the previous picture is a pear tree, which appears to be doing ok as far as top growth is concerned. Could too much water be something that could cause these symptoms? The drainage around the house has changed over the past several years, with more water being directed to that area, might that cause this tree grief? Hugh.
ps. re previous question re other (Pear) tree in picture with what appears to be splitting, it's actually just a rough area where the bark had spread in previous years, no problems with that tree. Hugh.
I'll check to see if the symptoms look similar (ie. Leaf spots are small, dark brown, water soaked, and often surrounded by a yellow halo. Spots enlarge and may be limited by leaf veins becoming angular in shape.) If this is the issue, I gather it's too late to use the copper spray. Is there anything that I can do, ie. clean out the black sap areas and apply any local remedies to those areas? Any suggestions would be appreciated. thanks, Hugh.
I examined the tree again and couldn't identify the symptoms that would identify with the lilac blight (ie. Leaf spots are small, dark brown, water soaked, and often surrounded by a yellow halo. Spots enlarge and may be limited by leaf veins becoming angular in shape.) All I can see at this point is dead flower heads (some are ok but most are completely browned and dead), and some new green leaves, not browned over but sort of listless. The trunk is not physically damaged, it seems sturdy enough, and the cracks are more like leaks with the sap running down. Hugh.
"New shoots wilt, become necrotic, and die back in spring." "In British Columbia, apply copper based bactericides at least once in fall and twice in spring near budbreak." http://plant-disease.ippc.orst.edu/disease.cfm?RecordID=706 I once heard lime sulphur (I think) dormant spray had been used in the past at the Seattle arboretum to protect deciduous magnolias (from this and/or another condition). This was being discussed because a couple metres or more of the top of perhaps the biggest Campbell magnolia there had died back suddenly. Another large example blighted off and died completely the same winter or otherwise at about the same time. I think this was attributed to lilac blight in both instances, but I do not have written remarks from staff in front of me. Have also noticed some stock in previous years arriving from suppliers with startling yellow dormant buds, presumably due to lime sulphur dormant spray. Chronic dieback of Yulan magnolia going back years at Rhody Ridge park, Bothell WA was arrested dramatically after I was consulted and a dormant spray program was undertaken.
There are at least two issues with this Magnolia and perhaps a third if we look at the link that Ron submitted. We can see a secondary rotting organism on the fallen leaves in the second photo that is known to affect some Magnolias in blossom. Treat for it like we would a Camellia blossom blight. Cultural control is the best long term method to use for that fungus by raking or gathering up and discarding all fallen leaves, debris and fallen tepals. A Copper or a Calcium based fungicide spray in the Fall will help but in severe cases a repeat spray may be warranted in the Spring about a month to six weeks prior to this plant flowering. Try to get a window of 48 hours of no rain to allow the spray to stick to the wood and dry for the Spring application to have any real efficacy. The browned flower can do that with a sudden temperature change of going from warm to cold rather suddenly when the flower is starting to open and we can see it again in the interior of the tepals as the tepals have expanded. The browning of the tips of the sullen leaves does indicate a bacterial blight however. The Pear does have an issue and it is known as Bacterial canker. This same form of Pseudomonas and there are many that can cause wide ranges of symptoms such as a non gummosis forming wet lesion, a dry lesion, a petal and leaf blossom blight, a twig and shoot blight and of course the more commonly seen form around here an internal canker causing gummosis. We can clearly see what a gummosis on a Magnolia looks like in the trunk of this tree in the last photo. It is this pathogen more than cold or a quick thaw along with direct sun that can cause the bark to split in many flowering and fruiting trees. We usually see it in a Magnolia in the shaded part of the trunk as evidenced by another Magnolia in this same forum. The internal bacterium came about from propagation of this tree but the blossom blight did not. For an internal canker a fungicide spray can also be used in the Fall and the Spring prior to bloom. Best and most effective treatment is to spray the trunk heavily with a fungicide or use a systemic Copper or perhaps a Calcium based solution if need be, wait until the topical spray has dried and paint over the trunk with a white latex paint to help prevent the bark on the trunk from splitting any further. Once that trunk has a major split it only gets worse for this tree and can lead to the death of the tree later with some help from a secondary invading organism such as a borer or a fungus of which you already have one visible near this tree as evidenced by the Botrytis on the fallen leaves. Jim
I appreciate all the responses, it has been very helpful in getting an understanding of what's happening. I will add the magnolia to my off-season treatment routine, which I have already been doing for the Pear tree. I will also do the suggested treatment for the trunk immediately, including painting. One question I have is whether there is any treatment that can be done at this time of year for the branches; since the leaves are withering anyway, would it be helpful or harmful to apply treatment to the whole tree at this point? Hugh.
A lot will depend on your current daytime and nighttime temperatures. In cold or hot weather it is not advised to use a lime sulfur Volck type spray as the spray can injure wood. Can cause a sunburning effect to the wood in freezing and very warm temperatures, temps in the 90's and above. If the Magnolia was mine and I could not trim off dead or deadened wood caused from a blast disease then I'd give this tree an allover fungicide spray right now but here I'd have to do it in the late evening or very early morning as the spray can injure dry leaves if the spray dries too fast due to direct hot sun. An evening spray works best here with plants that have leaves that do not have a thick cuticle and deciduous Magnolias are one of them. Around here we can spray most any but not all evergreen forms of Magnolias if need be anytime during the day until the weather gets into the 90's. Some people will balk at the painting of the trunk for the symptom of the bacterial disease your tree is showing but painting the trunk from right above the uppermost wet lesion all the way down to ground level will help serve as a preventative for you in more ways than one. A weakened wood can crack further rather easily when exposed to too much hot and direct sun or through a thawing out in cold weather and exposed to direct sun. The painting also suppresses the spread of the crack in the wood. In shaded areas of the trunk the split makes it more convenient for an invader to come on in and infect your already weakened tree. Covering the fissure up closes the door on them. I think the controls mentioned by OSU in the link that Ron provided will work just fine for the problems you have. The blight you see is more of a blossom blight right now, which can get worse for you next year and it may not if left untreated but why chance it? A preventative spray has its purpose to help us help the tree rather than leaving it alone and subject it to a potentially worse blighting later when we may lose some wood. If we lose wood, we lose the propensity for this tree to bloom for a year or more, sometimes as long as five to seven years depending on the Magnolia for it to produce enough rejuvenate growth to set flower buds again. You should not have that long to wait for your Apollo unless you start losing some wood on this tree. Jim
Agree with mr. shep on the importance of protecting the trunk now. From the pics it appears the trunk could form a continuous split from the base up to the main branching if further stressed. 3 splits lined up already it appears. Would consider staking the tree at least 3 points, possibly from the branches, to avoid stress on the trunk till healed. Of course good air circulation , but not high winds, also helps the tree. Maybe mr. shep or RonB would have some thoughts on this.
Well, the magnolia has been sprayed with fungicide and the trunk painted white. I included some main branch areas that had damage or appeared to be leaking sap. Now I guess we wait and see. My thanks to all who responded. Hugh.
Keep us updated on how this Magnolia is doing. Some of the deadened branches may have to be cut back from the tips to live wood otherwise you may risk the whole limb dying out on you. The latter is not pleasant to have to endure but if we catch it in time we can save some of the limb. If the whole limb dies out then prune it off all the way back to the base of the tree. A blossom blight generally does not kill a whole limb but it can later lead to a shoot blight which can kill the entire branch and the entire tree if left untreated.. [ I saw signs of a late blossom and twig blight hit my Seckel and Red Sensation Pears in mid April over a month after they had bloomed. After I saw the blighting I pruned off all the areas that had been hit, gave the trees a Copper based fungicide spray mixed in water, deep watered both trees twice, a week apart and now the trees look fine like they were not adversely affected at all. ] Jim
It's been several weeks, sprayed with copper fungicide again about a week ago and watered it, and there's no sign of life, ie. no buds or leaves or anything sprouting. Is that normal if the tree is to recover? Am wondering because we are putting the house up for sale, and if it's definitely dead I would prefer to replace it and move on rather than have a bare tree sitting there. I have cut back some of the obviously dead branches to where the bark appears to have some green, but can't tell if it's healthy green or just dying back slowly. Is there a way to tell if this tree is likely to recover? Could it stay bare for a long time and still green out later? thanks, Hugh.
Looked pretty far gone at the start of this discussion. If it were mine I would have removed it at that point.
