My magnolia is sick -- please help me save it!

My magnolia tree seems to be sick!

Black spots have appeared on the leaves.

Some of the leaves now have holes (both circles and irregualr shapes).

Other leaves have turned yellow.

No flowers have appeared this year (by mid-April). (As far as I am aware, there should be flowers by now. I haven't seen this plant flower before since I moved into the property last September, after the flowering cycle.)

The plant is not in a container. It has been planted in the ground for at least 5 years. The magnolia is 5-feet tall and established. I haven't made any changes to its surrounding environment since I moved in last September.

The plant gets plenty of sunlight. And some water. I don't feed it anything else.

I'd be grateful for a diagnosis of the problem and any advice on the treatment.

This is my favourite plant -- I would be very upset if it died.

Thanks in advance.

 

I haven't made any changes to its surrounding environment since I moved in last September.

they dont like to be moved , thats the problem and its letting you know .

Sound like it has bacterial leaf spot , and with all the wet weather we have its not un common this year, probably entered through the roots when you moved it or if you damaged any of the branches , did you prune it when moving.

you need to pick up any leaves that fall and burn them

Spruce

 

Hi Spruce.

Thanks for the reply.
To clarify, I haven't moved the plant at all. I was the one who moved in last September. The plant has been in the garden much longer (at least 5 years, possibly 10).
I did some (mild) pruning to shape the plant last November. This involved cutting back some branches and leaves.
Should I apply any treatment/chemicals to the leaves that are still on the plant?
Or just burn the leaves that are on the ground? Is there a risk that it could spread to other plants (japanese maple)?
Thanks
Shawn

 

Good Evening Shawn
I saw your question here and had a sense of deja vu.
I'm not an expert on magnolias by any means but having looked at your pictures is it an evergreen magnolia? In which case some of the leaf damage could be due to the hard weather. Not knowing where you live makes it a bit tricky. Also evergreens do loose their leaves, just not altogether, they turn yellow/brown and drop off.
Looking at the picture of the whole plant overall it doesn't look too bad. There appear to be some flower buds coming on the branch ends. As Shiney said some magnolias don't flower until later in the year.
Given the amount rain this winter if the ground is not free draining and you say you have been watering it, it could be waterlogged I would hold off watering for a while and see how it does.
Two sites that may be worth looking at are http://www.magnoliatrees.co.uk/ and http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?pid=599

 

Hi Shawn

It is leaf spot, pruning doesn't help as this spreads it also if you do you are meant to clean the blades each time 10% bleach in water then dip the secateurs in each time and wipe the blade , pruning is always straight after the tree or bush has flowered , this gives the branches time to heal over before winter, a good feed will do it the world of good , for Magnolias I use fish blood and bone , or a quality rose granular fertiliser, I would pick up all the dead leaves if you can then put a feed on the whole area and then mulch to help keep the moisture in this also helps stop any bacterial leaf spot from reinfecting the tree , so it will bounce back if we have a dry summer give the base of the plant a good water, the more healthy the tree it will cope better just like us !!

Spruce

 

Looks like normal wear and tear to me. As Nigel says, evergreens do lose their leaves, but in dribs and drabs. One of the photos seems to be showing signs of snail or caterpillar damage, but nothing it can't shrug off. It looks like Magnolia grandiflora which would normally flower in July or August in the UK. Don't worry, Shawn, it looks healthy overall!

 

Thanks all for the helpful tips -- much appreciated.

Assuming it is leaf spot, would it be harmful to remove all the leaves that show signs of infection if they collectively account for 50% of all the leaves? Would removing up to half of all the leaves harm -- or even worse, kill -- the magnolia?

 

give it a good feed and a mulch, lets treat the patient not the symptoms I wouldn't be cutting off that amount you could also try a rose fungicide which may help, make sure you keep well watered throughout the summer, are you growing against a low fence ? , this magnolia is quite a big beast and does like the warmth of a wall to grow well .

Spruce