Asked on Feb 11, 2014

help!!!magnolia tree looks awful

Our magnolia tree we bought a few months back looks terrible. We have had some unseasonably cold weather here and some ice but our other magnolia tree seems just fine....we bought them from the same place at the same time and had them planted at the same time too. Does anyone know if it's too far gone or if we can give it food tlc, etc?! Any help will be much appreciated as we are relatively new to the tree world. Thanks!!!
Whole tree
One of the leaves
  9 answers
  • Donna Donna on Feb 11, 2014
    I would leave it alone and give it some time. I lived up north and had an evergreen magnolia that lost all its leave the first couple winters. It ended up being quite beautiful.
  • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Feb 11, 2014
    Have you been watering the tree regularly since it was planted?
  • Linda Bailey Linda Bailey on Feb 11, 2014
    Contact the nursery that planted it for you. They should be able to help. If it is just a lost cause, they need to know so they can replace it if they give that kind of guarantee. If you wait too long for them to know at least, they will tell you that the offer has expired.
  • Evelia Sowash Evelia Sowash on Feb 11, 2014
    Hi, I live in Southern Ohio and we have many Basil Leaf Magnolias on our property. I am looking at yours and I am thinking it may be a little distressed but you need to wait for it to establish. I have had experiences where all the leaves fall off and then new ones sprout. As long as the branches are green. You are fine. Some plants, when moved need to acclimate to the new area they are being asked to live in. It's possible it had more shade before and now it is in the open. It will need to produce new leaves to accommodate.
  • it is hard to see leafs with the sun as a back ground.... common mistake when planting on winter is that planting person don't water deeply ( on one of the pictures it seen to be brown around the edge and discolor: it might be due to dry ground. remember to water deep and you must remove all the airgaps from ground / or roots system other wise it burn roots and send the plants in to a shock, the tree it seen to be a fifteen gallons i would dig it up and soak it in a root starer solution to remove any dryness on root ball or water it with the solution. BUT CHECK PLANTING DEPTH BEFORE WATERING tree might have sunken with gravity. plus if you paid someone to have it done it is questionable their workmanship due to your posting, good luck.
  • 360 Sod (Donna Dixson) 360 Sod (Donna Dixson) on Feb 11, 2014
    How deep is that tree planted in relation to the root ball? Is it above or below the ground level? I can't tell from the picture.
  • Vicki Menton Vicki Menton on Feb 12, 2014
    Contact the nursery you purchased it at. Also, it had been spending alot of time trying to establish roots below ground so what you see above ground may not mean it is poor health at all.
  • Anjie Anjie on Feb 12, 2014
    Evergreen magnolias often experience leaf drop when they are newly planted. It may also be suffering from Winter Scorch due to the roots not being established enough to provide enough moisture to the plant especially during dry or windy winters. The only real concern I would have at this point is if the tree was planted properly. The top of the root ball should be even with ground level and mulch should not be up against the trunk of the tree. It would be too soon for improper planting to cause the tree damage, but if it needs to be corrected, this spring would be the time to do it. Use a slow release fertilizer now, so that it's available for the roots to absorb once the growing season begins.
  • Alissa Piekarski Alissa Piekarski on Feb 17, 2014
    Thank you all so much! To answer some questions, yes we have been watering it. They said to leave it on a slow drip so that it is not over watered bu that it has time to sink into the roots. We have called them and they said to keep checking it and they will have a planter come out and check it.....@Corvera Outdoor...thank you! I will tell the planter what you have suggested and see if they can do this!