Newly Planted Magnolia Tree

[Magnolia 101]

Greetings Everyone, In search of advice on a gift we received last fall and was hoping there is still a chance - please take a look and let me know if you think I should attempt to save, wait a tad bit longer, or replace it. Sincerely appreciate your thoughts in advance. The tree trimmer mentioned the damage by the deer antlers is what caused the plant to not come back.

 

[Raintree]

It's not dead until it's dead, give it a chance.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

I see new buds. Definitely looks like it was planted a little low, but I'm not sure I would mess with it at this point. Probably just transplant shock. Don't be that family member that insists on being with you at the hospital when you just want to go to sleep, lol. Let it do its thing and it will probably bounce back just fine.

 

[Magnolia 101]

It's not dead until it's dead, give it a chance.

Thank you Raintree - Much appreciated.

 

[Magnolia 101]

I see new buds. Definitely looks like it was planted a little low, but I'm not sure I would mess with it at this point. Probably just transplant shock. Don't be that family member that insists on being with you at the hospital when you just want to go to sleep, lol. Let it do its thing and it will probably bounce back just fine.

Sincerely appreciate your response TheJollyRoger - I was thinking the same - fingers crossed!

 

[sb47]

I wish I had never planted a magnolia in my front yard. They drop leaves all year plus the cones in the fall. The leaves are big and thick and don't break down very fast so they pile up and I rake leaves all year long. What a mess. The tree is beautiful but trashy.

 

[Magnolia 101]

I wish I had never planted a magnolia in my front yard. They drop leaves all year plus the cones in the fall. The leaves are big and thick and don't break down very fast so they pile up and I rake leaves all year long. What a mess. The tree is beautiful but trashy.

I totally understand your concerns and that is exactly why I planted this magnolia away from the home as much as possible.

 

[dboyd351]

Water it routinely!!! Should get a deep watering once or twice a week during it's first year until it becomes established. Lack of watering is the number one reason I see that new landscaping does not survive.
As long as you see green - leaves and new growth, it is still alive and trying to grow.

 

[Seachaser]

Let it grow. You do know magnolias get huge don’t you?
They are native to us. I’ve seen them run over by bulldozers and still come back from the roots.

 

[dboyd351]

He apparently has a cultivar that only gets about 30 ft tall.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Yeah, that's why I wish I'd

Water it routinely!!! Should get a deep watering once or twice a week during it's first year until it becomes established. Lack of watering is the number one reason I see that new landscaping does not survive.
As long as you see green - leaves and new growth, it is still alive and trying to grow.

It's in the middle of irrigated sod, if you look at the pictures. It's getting plenty of water.

 

[ChasSC]

In my personal experience, get rid of it while you still can. I see a nicely mowed manicured lawn behind that. My neighbor's shed those waxy leaves that don't mulch, don't burn and are just a royal pita. Plant you a nice Oak or an evergreen. Even the new neighbor next door said he wished he could cut them all down, he has probably a dozen in his back yard.

 

[ElevatorGuy]

In my personal experience, get rid of it while you still can. I see a nicely mowed manicured lawn behind that. My neighbor's shed those waxy leaves that don't mulch, don't burn and are just a royal pita. Plant you a nice Oak or an evergreen. Even the new neighbor next door said he wished he could cut them all down, he has probably a dozen in his back yard.

Yep, my brother in law had two huge ones that they couldn’t remove due to some historical rules. He rented a 45’ lift a few years back and I trimmed them for him. Those things suck.

 

[dboyd351]

Yeah, that's why I wish I'd

It's in the middle of irrigated sod, if you look at the pictures. It's getting plenty of water.

Looks well irrigated now, I agree. But it looks like something has changed. How did it get all that damage to the bark at the base if the wire fencing was around the tree?

 

[Magnolia 101]

Water it routinely!!! Should get a deep watering once or twice a week during it's first year until it becomes established. Lack of watering is the number one reason I see that new landscaping does not survive.
As long as you see green - leaves and new growth, it is still alive and trying to grow.

Thank you so much for the advice - I may have dropped the ball last fall on the watering instructions you offered - Much appreciated for your response.

 

[Magnolia 101]

Let it grow. You do know magnolias get huge don’t you?
They are native to us. I’ve seen them run over by bulldozers and still come back from the roots.

Awesome! I new they get pretty big as we have seen quite a few within our neighborhood. Holy smokes I did not know about the bulldozer update! Fascinating and thank you for the advice.

 

[Magnolia 101]

Looks well irrigated now, I agree. But it looks like something has changed. How did it get all that damage to the bark at the base if the wire fencing was around the tree?

Great question! Last year we received the tree as a gift when my wife's mother passed and as we hunted for a perfect spot to plant the tree on our property a buck decided to aggressively rub his antlers against the trunk while it was still in the plastic pot from the nursery - we were so upset.

 

[Magnolia 101]

In my personal experience, get rid of it while you still can. I see a nicely mowed manicured lawn behind that. My neighbor's shed those waxy leaves that don't mulch, don't burn and are just a royal pita. Plant you a nice Oak or an evergreen. Even the new neighbor next door said he wished he could cut them all down, he has probably a dozen in his back yard.

Oh Wow! Great advice and thank you!!! I'm pretty OCD when it comes to lawn care I learned from my grandpa and take deep pride in the lawn so I sincerely appreciate you noticing. We were so upset when one of the original trees did not survive due to the builder's lack of caring for the original trees around the lot. I was thinking that if I commit to a continued effort of trimming the tree it would not get too far out of hand. Would love to hear from the folks if that is just wishful thinking also. Thank you again.

 

[Magnolia 101]

Water it routinely!!! Should get a deep watering once or twice a week during it's first year until it becomes established. Lack of watering is the number one reason I see that new landscaping does not survive.
As long as you see green - leaves and new growth, it is still alive and trying to grow.

Thank you for the watering advice! I did exactly that and I am wondering now if the winter was just too harsh for the poor tree. I planted it last fall before the cold weather attacked Missouri. Thank you also for the "see green advice", I will trim away the dead branches this weekend.

 

[Magnolia 101]

He apparently has a cultivar that only gets about 30 ft tall.

What is a "Cultivar"?