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Magnolia no flowers

lel-and-johnlel-and-john Posts: 3
in Problem solving
I have a magnolia tree, which had a few blooms when I first bought it 2 years ago. It hasn't produced any blooms since, only leaves. It's planted directly in soil and gets sun most of the day. What am I doing wrong?   

Posts

  • K67K67 Posts: 2,506
    An old gardener once told me that a magnolia often puts down a tap root and once that happens it won't flower.
    I had one for years, bought as a tiny stick almost, it didn't flower and I put that down to being young, then we moved and I wanted to take it with me, as I dug it up there was a loud crack. Anyway potted it up and replanted with a piece of paving under the centre of the roots. When we moved again 17 years later it was over 10ft tall and covered with flowers every year.
    So I think the loud crack was the tap root breaking.
    In every house since then I have planted a magnolia with a stone under it  and they have always flowered.



  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    What variety do you have? Some can take as much as 40 years to flower, the larger the variety the longer it takes. I have a stellata which is about to flower decently for the first time in 7 years. It has produced a couple of flowers for the last few years but this will be its first major flush. My mistake has probably been lack of water, they need a lot.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    If magnolias with a tap root don't flower how on earth did the undisturbed ones in the wild, growing since prehistoric times, ever manage to flower?
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • K67K67 Posts: 2,506
     I just gave my opinion of my experience with my magnolia that never flowered. 
    I am going back to 1976 with this and do vaguely remember the gardener saying this happens sometimes, with more knowledge it might have had something to do with watering as well as I probably wouldn't have bothered much. 
    It didn't grow at all at first and I did give it a stern talkng to which worked. 
    I might try that with you Obelixx as your last couple of posts lately on my comments haven't come across as very friendly which I am sure you don't mean.
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    Not all " old gardeners " are full of wisdom. ;)
    Devon.
  • lel-and-johnlel-and-john Posts: 3
    Thank you, I initially had the tree in an area of the garden where there is an old burn running beneath it and thought maybe it was getting water logged, but if they like a lot of water it should have been fine 🤔. I did also wonder if I needed to be more patient to see flowers, but the fact the tree came with flowers growing initially made me think I'd compromised the tree in some way. I'm definitely going to try the pacing stone trick 👍🏻. Thank you!!
  • K67K67 Posts: 2,506
    edited April 2021
    If you have moved it once it might just need to settle in again.
    You haven't said what sort but they do form their flower buds in the autumn so feeding and watering before then will help.
    I'm not sure digging it up again to place anything under it would be worth it though.
    I have a stellata that I bought in Lidl 5 years ago, it's been planted, dug up, potted, replanted in new garden and has flowered very well every year  so there doesn't seem to be a magic formula for them!
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    I have not been deliberately brusque @K67 nor intended to be unkind.

    Magnolias do best in sunny, sheltered sites and with fertile, moist soil tho one or two such as magnolia wilsonii will enjoy some dappled shade and the evergreen forms need more shelter from winter winds than the deciduous ones.   Have you kept yours fed and watered since you moved it @lel-and-john?   I'd try giving it some slow release rose fertiliser now and occasional drinks of liquid tomato feed from spring thru to mid July to encourage flower bud formation. 

    If we get more heatwaves and drought this summer, make sure it doesn't get thirsty.  One good drink a week of 15 to 20 litres poured slowly so it soaks in will be better than lots of dribbles that just encourage roots up to the surface where they get fried.



    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • lel-and-johnlel-and-john Posts: 3
    Thanks obelixx! I haven't fed the tree so will definitely do that and take on board about the slow feed watering 👍🏻I'm so grateful to everyone for your advice. I'm a complete novice gardener but really love it and am soaking up all of this information like a sponge, so good to have a great support like this xx
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