Sounds like it might have been planted in clay, with nowhere to drain to. Mags usually do well with more water than a lot of other trees, but yours sounds like it just gave up and drowned - yellowing plus dark spots all over doesn't sound very good.

Unless immediately too wet after planting sounds like it came with a problem already underway. These do shed old leaves during the growing season but in small numbers over a long period (one of the drawbacks to planting this species in a garden setting).

Well being that you planted it it March you do know that magnolia's drop a lot of leaves in the springtime where they turn yellow and fall off. Thats just what they do in the spring. A picture would help just because it is its first year and trees usually don't do a lot above the ground in that first year.

Top growth commonly stunted first spring after planting by root loss, this would not have been bare-rooted. It could have been field grown and balled-in-burlap, a procedure that does also involve most of the feeder roots being lost. Plants installed with roots mostly intact should not show dwarfing of top afterward.

Magnolias apparently do not like being moved about and transplanted. I have 5 large Edith Bogues that were dug in winter, December 2005, and still haven't recovered. The 1st year in their leaves ALL turned yellow then brown and dropped and I was sure all trees had died. This year they're doing better, only 1 may be heading for ascension to heaven. Was told by a magnolia expert that a larger magnolia transplanted takes 5 years to recover but it will leaf out fully eventually. They need a long time for their fleshy shallow roots to recover.

When it gets hot in spring mine get a lot of yellow leaves dropping and it's worrisome. They do like sprinkler watering at night.

Think perhaps buying a non-root-bound small container magnolia and planting it well in fall when the rains start is the safest way to do it.

Thanks for the replies.
How do I get pictures posted? I don't really have a website that I can post and link to.

The magnolia was from a 15 gallon container, not ball/burlap.
I've heard that they take a while to recover after planting, and that seemed how it was for the past 3 months. But now it's not yellowing of the leaves ... it is dark browning of the leaves.
The branches are also getting dark brown spots.

My soil is loam (or at least what I think it to be), but it is not too well drained as it is in a low spot.

Should I remove the mulch to allow better evaporation?

Thanks.

You can open a free account on photobucket.com and post the pictures there. They will show you an HTML tag for your picture. Copy that and paste it in this message. When you preview the message, the picture will show up, if it doesn't you didn't paste it correctly.

Magnolias, as a rule of thumb, should be moved only in early spring. Anything other time has a high risk of failure. Fall is a bad time to plant them.

hi all,

I am a very new gardener with little to no knowledge. I had a Little Gem planted in October of 06 - about 12 feet tall. It bloomed in the Spring but then dropped all its leaves except a few at the top. It does have some buds on it but it sure is looking dead. I have no clue what to do and have tried to look at the cambium layer but really can't tell anything.... help?

Just follow Dibbit's advice above. It takes 5 years, and magnolias do come back. Worth it because then they'll be full, lush, beautiful, wonderful flowers.

Can i use epsom salt at base of

"Can i use epsom salt at base of"

On a magnolia? To what purpose? Have you diagnosed a magnesium deficiency?

No I really don't know first

If you "don't know", why would you think Epsom salts would be beneficial to a struggling magnolia? Despite a lot of anecdotal reporting to the contrary, Epsom salts is not some sort of miracle plant cure. It is ONLY appropriate if there is a defined magnesium deficiency........which is not all that common.

It would be more helpful if you could explain what's wrong with your magnolia and with photos to support. Location would be helpful as well and any other details that would help to explain the situation.

I would not worry about it at this point in the season, it won't be flushing new growth at this point of the year. I bet it flushes new growth next season. As was said above, M. grandifloras shed leaves BIG TIME in mid to late Spring. As was also said above, they can take occasional submergence in flood waters, but would really resent this if it were habitual. Honestly, I would just let it be and wait, they were designed to survive.

Thank you for taking time to answer