Hi. I have an Oyama Magnolia. It is about 3 years old and is in a raised bed near an eastern wall. It is covered with flower buds and has a lot of leaves, but the leaves are turning brown, then crispy. Can anybody help with this? Should I remove the leaves as soon as they start turning. Is it too much or too little water? This happened two years ago. It has been very hot (over 30C) and humid for nearly a week.
sounds like a sunburn or heat scorch, try to water deeply a couple times a week and see if it is able to recover and thrive. Dont pull the leaves off, let the tree drop them as it sees fit. is there anything else that may be attributing to the damage? has it been omoved recently? has it been fertilized? have you used an herbicide nearby recently? weed n feed nearby?
Benefits from some shade even around here. There is probably too much heat coming off the wall, which may also be drying the soil out (if it has a concrete foundation).
Hi and thanks for your replies. I have been looking at it closely and it appears to start as a very small brown dot in the middle of a leaf (not browning on the edge) and then spreads outwards. The leaf is still "soft" at that point. Then as it gets larger, the brown area starts to dry out and curl. I have also noticed today that some of my nice plump flower buds are turning a tan colour and drooping. They are not opening. I will give it good consistent drinks unless you think otherwise. I have not fertilized - should I? I water with rain water. It hasn't been moved since I bought it 3-4 years ago. It is fairly close to a cement foundation. It is in the shade from approx 2:00 pm on. The weather here is so crazy, ice pellets/sleet 5 weeks ago and +30C and humid for the past week. Could it be stress?
Did you ever find out what species in the Oyama section is involved? Was it M. sieboldii or M. wilsonii? (I doubt that globosa or sinensis would be in the trade. Oyamas hate drought and heat. Further the wall may haved increased the pH of the soil. Do you still have the plant? Have a look at the web site of the magnolia society for identification(magnoliasociety.org) Keep trying in another location. Keep the seed if any; this is an easy species to grow from seed. You may want tro try several different locations. But cool shade in a good organis acid soil should do it. Pdespoelberch, Belgium
Magnolia globosa I have seen only in the garden of a retired Arboretum director, whereas M. sieboldii sinensis has been sold here.
