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What's wrong with my Magnolia?

dangermousiedangermousie Posts: 356
in Problem solving
Does she not like the sun? Including a pic from March to confirm plant ID. 
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  • dangermousiedangermousie Posts: 356
    Pic upload failed
  • dangermousiedangermousie Posts: 356

  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    Magnolia stellata is usually ok in sun, provided the soil is reliably moist.  (In the wild it grows by streamsides in Japan.)  

    Yours certainly looks stressed... has it been short of water this year?  It's in the "rain shadow" of the wall, which won't help.  The weather has been unusual and I suspect it hasn't enjoyed the intense heat.  It looks chlorotic, ie the leaves are more yellow than they should be; this can be caused by the soil being too dry (or waterlogged - but I'd suspect drought this year, unless your soil is badly drained).  The brown patches on the leaves suggest sun damage.  

    Give it plenty of water, at least a watering can full at a time, poured on slowly so it soaks in deeply.  Hopefully you'll see an improvement.

    Those flowers are beautiful...   :)
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • dangermousiedangermousie Posts: 356
    Thanks very much for the detailed response. There has been so much rain here that it didn't occur that it could be that. The rain bashes against that wall with the prevailing wind and flows down. One gardener even said it was a bit boggy! That said, for the mini heat wave just there, I didn't water it. I'll make sure it gets a drink every day so.

    Thanks again!
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I'd agree with @Liriodendron re the sun damage on foliage. It's quite common, and will recover.
    Your soil seems a little bit variable  though - perhaps you could amend it a bit with some organic matter added regularly, so that it becomes a better medium in general. While it won't mind moisture, if the ground dries out a lot in hotter/drier spells, that's more difficult for shrubs to cope with, so getting a better soil structure will make it easier in future. That might also help with the foliage colouring, as the soil will be less likely to have those extremes of boggy then dried out. Most walls create drier ground at  the base, as they soak up a lot, and other planting nearby also does that, but when yours is in the direct line of the prevailing rain, and wind, it's worth trying to improve it  :)

    M. stellata copes better with more alkaline soil too, so the pH of your soil shouldn't be a problem. Most magnolias need the acidic, or the acidic end of neutral soil.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • dangermousiedangermousie Posts: 356
    Very interesting! That makes sense, I'll give it a go.
    Thanks very much for the rescue
  • dangermousiedangermousie Posts: 356
    Hello! A gardener came to visit and suggested ericasios food. Watering doesn't seem to do the trick so I've given that a try. Fingers crossed!
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I think the site it's in is the problem.
    Feeding plants which are stressed is a bad idea too. I'm surprised you were advised to do that. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • dangermousiedangermousie Posts: 356
    Ah really? She did say to move it to the other side of the house, I just don't have the muscle power for that at the moment. 
  • dangermousiedangermousie Posts: 356
    It's new home would be quite shady, ENE facing with a house 6m away
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