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Magnolia Stellata Advice

NiallwNiallw Posts: 1
in Problem solving
I planted a magnolia stellata around 18 months ago. It was from the casualty bay in the garden centre but was fine. Planted and given some TLC it did very well last year producing buds and flowers and seemed very healthy. I felt there were too many shoots on the plant but was a little nervous about pruning as they are said to be quite sensitive to it. This year the plant is a mess of small thin branches which I believe need to be thinned out. It had started to bud towards the base of the plant but the upper levels of all the branches are looking poor. If anyone can provide any advice in what to do with it I would really appreciate it. The plant is well sited in sandy soil and I weed and put compost on it fairly regularly.

Posts

  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    That looks fine to me. I would just cut off any crossing branches or ones growing towards the centre. This type of magnolia is prone to producing all the thin twiggy bits but the more you cut off, the more they grow unfortunately. I believe you should wait until the leaves appear before pruning (although awkward) as they are said to 'bleed' when the sap is rising.
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    @neillw are you sure that’s a Magnolia Stellata ? 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

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