Composting Magnolia Leaves

19 years ago

It's early for this question, but hey, forewarned is forearmed.

I have a huge magnolia tree that covers much of my backyard, and from mid summer to late fall, it dump leaves. It LITERALLY covers every inch of my backyard in less than a week. Two weeks and there will be knee-high piles all over the place. It's a constant struggle, and for the last two years we've been filling up our large yard waste container weekly (I think I just saw some of you cringe), and sometimes using our neighbors.

Now I'm thinking I should be using those leaves (they'd be nice right now, as I'm starting a lasagna bed). But they're very thick leaves, will they break down properly? How long should it take? And how much of them should I hang on to? I can't possibly compost them all, I'd never have the space! I like the idea of wire fencing in a circle with plastic inside it. Should the plastic have holes in the bottom? Can I throw other stuff in with magnolia leaves?

Thanks,

Jenn

P.S. I highly recommend AGAINST planting a magnolia tree. Unless you have a lot of time to spare and you love raking.

Featured Answer

Cena

19 years ago

Take a sturdy trash can. Dump in about half full of leaves. Get your super-duper powered string trimmer in there, wear a dust mask and goggles! Shred until feeling vindicated.

Take a nice sized, yard waste bag, tie up AFTER wetting leaves down. Place behind shed making sure to run into some pokey things between trash can and storage location. Next year, at this time, uncork and enjoy.

NOT QUITE that simple, but it beats throwing them away every week! Yes, yes I do know your pain!
{{gwi:269519}}

I have to say, without some type of mechanical interference they don't compost worth beans. The shredding does wonders (although the Harbor Freight Electric doesn't like Magnolia leaves, you can be insistent though) and helps to break down. Once shredded I find it to be a Wonderful Mulch! Still takes time after that for break down. Good stuff for the top of the garden during winter.

I do know, if you have a rainy climate you must watch for mosquitoes forming in water pooled in the leaves or under the leaves.

Good luck. It is good stuff if you can get it processed. I use large amounts of Emerald Jewel beetle larva. They LOVE leaves, and grass, and cardboard, and, and, and.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
19 years ago
I assume you are referring to the evergreen magnolia leaves, Magnolia grandiflora? They are of heavy texture and waxy and do take a long time to break down if left intact. Best to shred them with a lawnmower, shredder or string trimmer first, then go ahead and compost them with the rest of your garden debris.
brdldystlu
19 years ago
I second it, compost them. First mow your lawn on mulch mode then put on the bagger and bag up the mulched leaves. They will take up way less room that way. They will also compost way quicker. I don't know much about them, I don't have one in my yard. The one thing I do know is anything with a wax surface takes a long time to compost down if you don't chop them into little bits first.
sandy
Related Professionals
Jacksonville Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Owensboro Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Lansing Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Salt Lake City Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Cowansville Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Natchitoches Landscape Contractors · Clarksdale Landscape Contractors · Bloomington Landscape Contractors · Binghamton Landscape Contractors · Paducah Stone, Pavers & Concrete · Shreveport Stone, Pavers & Concrete · Pittsfield Stone, Pavers & Concrete · Bangor Stone, Pavers & Concrete · Newport Stone, Pavers & Concrete · Twin Falls Stone, Pavers & Concrete
reg_pnw7
19 years ago
I used to have a gardening client with 3 full grown evergreen magnolias planted along her street front. Man o man. What a mess. Like you say, buried in leaves all summer and fall, and in the winter the flower cones drop.

I would 'mow' what would have been lawn except for the magnolias, to shred the leaves up and pick them up all at once. The shredded leaves compost very nicely. Not at all if you don't. Someone told me once he read about an archeological dig where they were finding fossilized leaves in shale, they found a magnolia leaf in the shale - not fossilized, not petrified, not decayed at all - million year old LEAF. I believe!!!! yes.

Unshredded, they make great weed barrier except for blowing away in the slightest breeze. They do NOT decay.

Southerners think west coasters are nuts for planting evergreen magnolias in gardens and along streets. We are nuts. They're horrible. In the South they leave the lower branches on, down to the ground, and the leaves drop in there under the branches and stay there. A park tree, or large shrub border or woodland belt. Not something to limb up and plant somewhere you want to be under it.
DallasDaphne
14 years ago
If you leave them in your flower beds, they can harbor ants.
HU-594562799
4 years ago
Yes I agree. i just got in from raking the leaves and the spent flowers are starting to fall i am going to put these leaves in a large contractors plastic bag, tie it closed, run over it a few times with my lawn mower with blade turnee of or my truck and use the crushed leaves as mulch..or maybe i will just stomp on them turningv them over and ovver until they are crushed.
Kelli Culpepper
3 years ago
We blow ours, and have 3 huge ones in the front yard, one of those is in driveway circle and it’s the one that makes us looney, into the lawn and just mow over them. No muss no fuss. But it’s constant and I’m not 🤪