This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Magnolia Bush/Tree Shape Problem?
bjazz28
Posts: 71
Hello,
I just got a new Magnolia Susan bush from a local supermarket in mid spring (I think mid April), it was just coming into bud and was only about a 1.5 feet tall. There is nothing wrong with it and it seems very healthy, I planted it up right away in decent enough compost in a large pot as the root ball is quite small right now.
My main concern is that now it has started to grow quite vigorously and I noticed that the stems are falling over. I have another Magnolia bush that grows in a very compact way and has never needed any kind of support, but I have had to insert a cane into the pot of this plant and lift the dropping stems upwards toward it.
I now think that this particular plant might be a tree and not a bush? if this is the case, does anyone have any ideas or advice about how I should maybe prune or train it into the desired hight or shape? I intend to keep it in a large tub in the end because it will have to live on my balcony.
Here is a picture of the plant taken today, hopefully it's clear enough to give you an idea of what I might need to do.
Thanks for your help and for reading.
cheers,
BJ
I just got a new Magnolia Susan bush from a local supermarket in mid spring (I think mid April), it was just coming into bud and was only about a 1.5 feet tall. There is nothing wrong with it and it seems very healthy, I planted it up right away in decent enough compost in a large pot as the root ball is quite small right now.
My main concern is that now it has started to grow quite vigorously and I noticed that the stems are falling over. I have another Magnolia bush that grows in a very compact way and has never needed any kind of support, but I have had to insert a cane into the pot of this plant and lift the dropping stems upwards toward it.
I now think that this particular plant might be a tree and not a bush? if this is the case, does anyone have any ideas or advice about how I should maybe prune or train it into the desired hight or shape? I intend to keep it in a large tub in the end because it will have to live on my balcony.
Here is a picture of the plant taken today, hopefully it's clear enough to give you an idea of what I might need to do.
Thanks for your help and for reading.
cheers,
BJ
0
Posts
Well I guess I will just have to accept the limitations of not giving this plant the amount of soil it would normally require, however I do have an apple tree and an ornamental cherry tree in large tubs and they have been ok for a few years now, maybe because I renew the medium every year during dormancy.
I am not saying that your advice is without consequence and I will bear in mind the fact about the growing space and not expect too much in view of this.
And also I will adjust the feed and obtain the correct compost for next year to make it as happy as possible and to get it to flower ultimately.
Thank you for letting me know about the firming habit of the stems, that is very good to know as it means I don't have to think about lopping off many stems in the coming years just to shape it.
Thank you for your input I really appreciate it.
cheers,
BJ