The Evergreen Magnolia below was pruned in late summer. It is not doing well. It is because of the obvious cut made to its main branch? Does anyone know how long it will take to recover?
If the lawn around the tree is maintained, ex., treated against weeds, the tree may suffer or even die. It happened to my cherries which grew close to my neighbor's hedge. They evidently overdone it.
Nasty 'pruning' cut. It should be brought back to one of the more dominant laterals to try to restore a more healthy form. The watersrprouts will need to be addressed as well. It does look as though there is something besides just the bad cut going on with the tree, unless a very large part of the canopy has been taken off. If so, maybe previously shaded leaves are experiencing sun-scald?
Thanks. I have since read that Magnolia trees central leader should never be cut and it looks like this is what has happened. Pruning the laterals to give the tree a better shape and also pruning off the waterspouts will be done is there anything else you can recommend to help this tree at this point in time? It lives beside a concrete patio and I wonder if that is also contributing to its overall lack of luster.
Not saying yours is this cultivar but numbers of 'Little Gem' down here look like your tree does now due to conditions of last winter. If this specimen is as tender it will have to be replaced with a more hardy selection to avoid future repetitions of same. In addition, the topping cut is so severe it might be worthwhile to replace your tree just for that reason alone. 'Little Gem' may also be seen here with the upper half or other major part of the top broken out due to wet snow loads. Other forms of southern magnolia can be subject to similarly severe damage, for the same reason. More bushy, long-proven forms like 'Victoria' and 'St Mary' are liable to be better choices for this region. All will appreciate a sheltered, sunny planting position. In Britain there is even a history of using this tree as a large espalier on warm walls.
I agree, its form has been severely compromised and at this point it is worth considering replacing it with a healthy, more hardy tree. However, although it would take lots of yearly pruning over lots of years to restore your magnolia, on the whole it would be less work than replacing the tree. If you're happy with it despite its compromised form, there is no reason not to try to save it...
