It stays columnar. This is one I plan to plant, as well. I have a Magnolia friend, he's introduced a couple to the trade, and he's recommended this tree over and over again and how it will stay 'confined'.

I wanted 'Felix Jury' and this friend of mine stated over and over again that regardless of the zone 5 designation that it's more towards zone 7. Apparently the hybridizers of 'Felix Jury' from New Zealand used a lot of blood from a much less hardy species and I can't tell you which species, however, it's zone rating is completely off (cold tolerance.)

'Daybreak' is according to my friend the best substitute available to 'Felix Jury' and is without question zone 5 winter hardy.

Cheers,

Dax

I grew one for several years before it became diseased, the outline of this particular specimen was not narrow. It made it to approximately head high before blighting off, the habit was about the same as many other deciduous hybrid magnolias produce - that is low forking, with branches going out to the side that were as vigorous as the ones in the center.

The site it was planted on appears to have a chronic bacterial blight problem, with various maples also having failed after some time. Sometimes with deciduous magnolias (at least the Asiatic ones) you have to employ a sulfur dormant spray or take other steps to prevent bacterial damage in this area. Pseudomonas likes cool, damp conditions in late summer or fall; plants adapted to hotter growing seasons than we have here are probably particularly susceptible to being invaded, due to hardening of current shoots not having been completed when the weather turns.

Those big lower branches will just keep getting bigger, making the crown wider. Columnar means like a column; not that many trees are actually that narrow, especially in maturity.

As with many other kinds of trees a typical sequence during the life of a magnolia is a youthful phase when the tree emphasizes height increase and then a mature stage where the tree broadens considerably. With forest adapted trees like magnolias this seems a pretty obvious response to competition within a stand of trees, where the dominant need for many years is to get up into the light (and not get crowded out), after which the tree spreads sideways to maximize sun exposure and suppress other trees underneath.

Starterdude, I like the candyland shed. I should make mine cuter next spring.

I outta get some Mag rootstocks and graft us 15-30 of that Frank. Get any crossing branches cut out among any others you could sacrifice. That's grafted on either kobus or acuminata.

Ron, regarding those lower limbs, here's right from my friend that breeds magnolia's:
"Magnolia Daybreak is quite complicated it is (M. Woodsman x M. Tina Durio) & was crossed with Blushing Belle M. 'Yellow Bird' x M. 'Caerhays Belle'....The only other advice I can give you regarding Magnolias is do not prune them if
at all possible. ItâÂÂs best to let them make their own shape & allow the lower branches to remain unless they die out or something like that. They do not heal well from cuts either. Also they do not handle drought well; but once established should be fine & applying mulch of course helps."

A year ago this time, I had been probing him about questions related to seeds of 'Daybreak' he had given to me. I suppose the pruning aspect could be interpreted in different ways.... for me, cut, cut, cut! ;-)

Regards my old friend!

Dax

Thank you all for the comments! Beautiful picture Frank. How old is your specimen? I think mine should do just fine where it is. I was really more concerned about the shadow it would cast and if I could still plant sun loving plants in its vicinity. I sounds like it will be many years before that becomes a problem, by the picture and bboy's growth habit description.

Dax, thanks for answering my next question. The one I have has lower branches that are almost to the ground. I was wondering if I could prune them, but will leave them and let the tree do its thing. Other than dead branches, are there any circumstances where I should prune it?

Hello Chris,

The main biggie is more than one central leader. I've had instances where I had to remove 1/2 a tree's total mass because it had forked so low and had dual leaders competing.

Instances with all trees starting their journey like that should be dealt with as soon as recognizable. Obviously the most dominant leader with the heaviest bulk or mass of secondary branches is the kept leader.

The same goes for the roots. You should always inspect the full root system before planting and cut any crossing or what is known as "J" roots because of their "J" shape.

There are further instances that get too complicated for the average gardener when dealing with extreme root systems and maintaining "balance" of the mass of the roots and of the wood. Every now and then more advanced pruning to both may be required for either or to support the other component. In these cases you've had to have bought some really screwed up trees from the get-go. I recently learned that a 24" tree I purchased that I lopped off 95% of the root-system off should not have any of its' wood cut back. So take what I'm saying with a grain of salt. What I'm speaking of about balance... I'm talking about removing side-branches and not cutting the leader, ever. And I'm part old school where I know that balancing root-systems with freshly grafted scions of dwarf plants or miniature woodies to seedlings already with the correct mass ratio of wood will require that I pay attention, allowing the scion to develop far enough along, as to over the course of usually a few but sometimes up to 4-5 years, until I remove the seedling above the graft or "working area" so the scion will be able to support the root system & vice-verse.

Crossing branches heading toward the main trunk should be eliminated. Use the correct tool to make a very clean cut, always. Prune at the correct time which is usually late winter/early spring and always while the trees are dormant yet, if you can.

Dax

I don't see anything on the magnolia shown I would cut off, especially this far along in its development.

Chris, I bought this tree from Dave Dannaher in 2004. I think it was in a one gallon container.

Dax, let me know when you are ready to graft.

Frank

In response to gardener365 IL's comments, here's a picture of the tree I referred to above. Do you think I have the problem here of more than one central leader? The "2nd leader" looks to have been cut at some point. I planted this last fall and haven't pruned anything on it. Any suggestions?

{{gwi:471873}}

I wouldn't screw with that.

That dark branch in the top left quadrant of the picture is crossing into the interior. Just pull on it... see if it goes back outside.

Dax

I see a lot of magnolia of this type in our neighborhood. Many have grown into very large and tall trees. So I guess their cultivars must be quite old. The canopy is wide and far reaching. The most massive blooms are in the spring but isolated blooms occur into fall. However, the flowers of those are more purplish or grayish pink, than the one in your picture. Could someone describe how Daybreak stands out as a better choice for pink magnolias? How can one tell a pink or purple one is Daybreak?

Thanks! I'll take a look at that one overlapping branch. I'll leave the rest alone.
-Chris

How is you tree doing Chris?

Unfortunately, this tree did not survive. I started another thread regarding problems I had with it, which I can't find at the moment, but basically, the tree began to decline, and I ultimately discovered a crack in the bark at the base of the tree descending down into the soil. Someone hypothesized that freezing caused the crack, since it was the south side of the tree. I chose not to replace it at the time, but do like this variety and may plant it again in the future.

-Chris

Found the link..

Trouble with Magnolia 'Daybreak'

It has huge blossoms, larger than other magnolias. We got written

agreement amongst 4 neighbours to plant it in the extreme corner of one of our properties, so that each one of us would get 1/4 of the plant in our gardens. So far it has worked very well, and all the neighbours are happy. It should increase property values as it grows! Photo at the bottom is for visualizing size and proportion of a very young tree - the blooms looks like huge pink lilies or Japanese origami birds - it starts blooming at a young age. So far, it is quite columnar.