Any ideas whats wrong with this Southern Magnolia?

[NCTREE]

The Magnolia is pretty much done with but i'd like to know what this is for future reference. I was thinking some sort of insect like a mite but unsure. Any ideas?

 

[PinnaclePete]

Looks more fungal to me, but at least down south that's secondary. Any other issues with the tree - poor drainage, salt spray/run-off?

 

[NCTREE]

The drainage seems to be fine. It's kind of close to a pool though. I thought it might also be chemical from the clorine. There is a couple of douglas firs close to it, two of them are starting to thin and die out in the middle which makes me think it is funga like vercillum root rot or something. This is very commom around here with douglas firs, they don't seem to do well in our hot and humid summer climate.

The dead branches and top was cut out of the magnolia by the HO and now it just has some some suckers left.

 

[treemandan]

What do the root balls look like?

 

[NCTREE]

What do the root balls look like?

I haven't really looked at the root ball yet. From what I can see it was planted right not too deep or shallow. Is there something I should be looking for in the root ball? The magnolis was planted within the past five years.

 

[PinnaclePete]

Probe around, you might find it sitting in a wet bowl or still have the burlap and twine around it. That would be the primary stressors.