please measure how far the trunk is from the edge of the deck

If you happen to have the tag, what is its full name (Latin and common)\

A magnolia from the big box will get too big for that space. It is planted much too close to the deck. Magnolia 'Jane' is a good bet from the big box.

Transplanting is possible, but yes there is a risk. Easy enough to buy a new one at the big box. Better to fix the problem now while it is small. Some people will say magnolia have a reputation for being fussy. The fact that it is only two years planted will improve the chances of success. Fall or spring depending on your climate is the best time to attempt the operation.

I would trust the arborist who is able to view it on site and knows your local climate. If it spreads where you don't want it, you just prune it. You can even keep the thing as a shrub if you want.

I might also plant a second one now, just in case this one misbehaves. :)

You can also limb them up slowly as the limbs become a problem. I have a Magnolia Grandaflora that is about 10 years from seed.

There are two types of the Grandaflora in our areas, One has been let go and tree has become a pyramid with the lower branches on the ground. The others have had the lower limbs cut off and you can walk under them I my opinion the ones without lower limbs that you can mow around are better.

So that is the plan for my tree. As the tree grows the lower limbs will be remove, The rate of removal will be such that it does not damage the tree.

The tree is 4ft north from the deck, 27 inches to the side of the deck stairs.

Unfortunately, I don't think I have the tag still... though I'll update if i find it.

"4ft north from the deck, 27 inches to the side"

Way too close to suit me.

"If it spreads where you don't want it, you just prune it. You can even keep the thing as a shrub if you want."

I wouldn't recommend frequent pruning on a magnolia.....or using pruning as a technique to keep the tree smaller. Magnolias react very poorly to heavy pruning, sending out a lot of vertical epicormic growth as a result. It can also stress out the tree unnecessarily and affect flowering. Most websites dealing specifically with magnolias will recommend pruning with a very light hand, if you prune at all. Not every woody can be hacked back at will and produce satisfactory results :-))

And unless a shrub form (which the photos indicate it is not), it will quickly outgrow that siting so I would strongly suggest relocation.

lets be frank ... who's frank ...

its way too close ... compare here.. though admittedly we dont have a precise name.. this will do for now ...:

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=magnolia+tree&t=ffab&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images

i would not bother moving it .... i would just go buy a smaller one and plant it appropriately ... and i certainly wouldnt pay hundreds of dollars to have it moved.. no cost/benefit ratio there ....

since its in a place that you should not really be planting anything of this scope.. i would just cut it flush to the ground and apply a stump killer.. if mags need such.. and plant some perennials around the trunk .... anywhere you can dig a hole...

you havent mentioned the elephant near the deck.. the AC ... if you decide to move it.. you better know for sure where the electric and AC plumbing is.. or harming that will greatly increase your costs... this is one of the reasons i would try digging a 2 or 3 foot rootball to move it ..

be done with it,. and replace it.. mother earth net zero ... and everyone is happy ...

all that said .... thank you frank ... pruning is NBD ... and there is no reason you need to pay to have it done.. with a 10 dollar tree saw and a good pair of hand pruners.. yearly pruning might take 10 minutes ... of course.. clean up usually takes longer.. lol ... you could mess around with learning how to prune things.. and then... when you wreck it.. and it gets too big.. in a few years .. you could then cut it to the ground etc ...

nothing.. otherwise healthy will die from pruning... and frankly .. hey.. he's back.. its therapeutic on some level.. when you learn how to do it ...

now go do the right thing.. whatever it may be...

ken

ps: goodbye frank.. and quit stalking my posts .. lol ..

Good ol' Frank.

Just being practical here: remove it and plant a new one nowhere near that AC unit.

Once in a while, your magnolia will drop a lot of leaves (normal, usually just before flowering). They are stiff, leathery and take forever decompose. Just imagine them raining down on your AC and getting between the blades.

Okay. I've decided to move it. I am gonna give it a fair shot and have it transplanted. I can't not TRY, and the cost to do it (along with some other tree work) is not too bad. I know it might not survive, but maybe it will! I guess I will know by spring, in which case, I can get a new baby tree if necessary.

Appreciate all the input and advice (even Frank)! Will try to post and update here when all is said and done.

Make sure you know how to water deeply- transplants are particularly needy and how well you tend to that will tell the tale.

And keep gsrdengal’s advice about pruning magnolias in mind in the future. avoid pruning them lest you trigger endless water sprouting snd suckering.

Great thread. 100% behind the advice to not prune magnolias, but as is sometimes the case, there's 'the exception that proves the rule'. The exception being, "unless there is a compelling reason to very carefully prune SOME of them". In this case, you could prune til the cows come home and it was still not planted in the right spot. End of discussion. ON THE OTHER HAND, I will go out on a limb now to say: I have seen enough Magnolias in public and private collections to say, yes, sometimes there is a compelling case to prune them. Very carefully lol. If I had not pruned my various Gresham type magnolias, they would DEFINITELY look worse than they do now. And we often see that in public gardens. I am _completely convinced_ It goes back to the theme I've talked about in other threads...how asexually propagated plants do not establish the correct amount of apical dominance, and can end up ugly, multistemmed specimens when they really 'shouldn't' look that way. So I do very careful shaping of my magnolias, like my newly planted 'Atlas', and will continue to do so. It was trying to form a split leader so I removed the less dominant shoot. It wasn't even firm enough to need a secateur, I snapped it with my fingers. Simple as that.

Here is a picture, of, almost certainly, the ORIGINAL, GROWN FROM SEED, 'Mark Jury'. Taken from Abby Jury's excellent website and considered fair use.

Notice how it has a strong, straight bole you'd expect for a _tree_. Not a shrubby appearance at all. The parent species of these sort of hybrids: campbellii, sargentiana, even denudata, are most definitely trees. The only shrubby exception is the smaller parent of soulangeana, liliflora. And perhaps if I had a pure soulangeana, I'd be a little less keen on keeping it to a single stem.

But back to Mark Jury - a campbellii X sargentiana cross. Now we google for images of ALL THE WORLD'S OTHER MARK JURYS, grown from grafting or possibly micropropagation.

We see a lot of this sort of thing:

EXACTLY what we'd expect to see of an asexually grown plant that had not been subtly persuaded to grow more as its "origin plant" would have! Too low and too crowded branching because the shoot that was grafted is still epigenetically programmed to think it's at the end of a lateral branch.

So...screed finished. I will go on very, very carefully pruning my magnolias. So far my 'Phelan Bright' is now >= 30' tall and there's been no calamitous side-effect of wanting it to look like original, seed grown cross would have looked!* Yes, some of the side branches produced epicormic growth when they were trimmed. I gave those a year or two to 'simmah down nuh', cut them, and it stopped producing them. It's now forming a beautiful rounded conical shape with a a very symmetrical branch pattern. No regrets.

* - I'm sick of threads on this site neither being easily searchable w/in Houzz, or properly indexed in google, but feel free to find the pic of my 'Phelan Bright' I posted in the spring lol. If anybody would like to pick a quarrel with how it looks ;-)

Lol!! David, "judicious" or careful pruning is not a concept that is universally understood or adhered to :-)

It is my belief that unless trained or skilled by considerable experience, most gardeners have little to no idea how prune anything properly or which plants may need a very careful hand (or NO hand at all ) when being pruned. Of any garden activity - next to watering - this is one of the most misunderstood and misapplied aspects of garden maintenance. Even most landscaping companies do a very poor job of it, unless employing a trained arborist. And we see evidence of it daily on these forums.

I have no doubts about your skill level and experience so entirely comfortable with your approach. But not at all comfortable with comments about keeping a tree sized magnolia cut back to a shrub by frequent pruning or the impression these sorts of comments may give to less experienced homeowner pruners!

I would also point out that the tree in question is a deciduous magnolia (not evergreen) and will drop its leaves all at once in fall just as any other deciduous tree will. And the leaves will breakdown and decompose naturally as well, with minimal impact to the AC unit.

Yep, completely agree gardengal. We are in a world now where a lot of people can't even WATER their plants correctly. Better safe than sorry and have people prune less rather than too much and too incorrectly.

"But not at all comfortable with comments about keeping a tree sized magnolia cut back to a shrub by frequent pruning" - indeed...and I am trying to keep tree sized magnolias from looking like giant shrubs with very, very infrequent pruning! I think after one more set of minor cuts, I may never need to prune my 'Phelan Bright' again, barring storm damage.

What is really a shame to me, is how often bad pruning is seen in public or municipal gardens! There are some terrible examples out there. In fairness, it's sometimes, or even most of the time, because they lack the money for staffing. But not always!