The magnolia looks much nicer than what it was. Good job!

I had recommended to cut deeper because you had decided on a shrub form. What you're doing will just mean it will be a bigger shrub form. But I still think you ought to completely remove one the the three hefty branches that converge at that same awkward point. Honest, in a couple years you'll never know it is missing.

Your magnolia's looking good! Mine has finished blooming. I wondered about trimming it up to an have decided to leave it alone. Here is the thread in case you want to compare or make comments.

The thread "Trim Tulip Magnoila Tree?" in Trees and Shrubs forum

@Leftwood, Rick ...

I did remove one. There were four hefty branches at that awkward point. I am thinking I need to vary the height of the remaining three because it still looks kind of awkward. I'll have a better idea after it leafs out.

You had mentioned that the tree would "fill in" and I kind of wanted to see what it would do before I cut more off. I am so glad I decided to make it a shrub. It is planted too close to the house to become a 15' to 20' tree ....

Thank you for the input that I still need to possibly take out another hefty branch as well as vary the length of them. I'll be watching the tree closely this year and will keep that in mind. As you mentioned earlier in this thread, I do want to avoid the mop head.

@ShadyGreenThumb, Cheryl ...

Thank you for the link. I clearly had not done my research before planting my tree ... now to be a bush/shrub.

Smiles,
Lyn

>> What do you call that ? ... the point where the nurseryman took out the leader ?

"The point of decapitation"?

I thought the three-way, open fork was very graceful this year, but might become fragile with age if the "three leaders" get lots longer and heavier. Do you ever have wet snow and then strong winds?

Disclaimer: I know nothing about pruning, and totally defer to Rick R.'s suggestions about your Star Magnolia.


I have a volunteer holly of some sort that would look like a perfect, balanced, upright tree ... if it weren't for a very low branch becoming a secondary trunk. I've thought for three years "I should really prune that off", but I'm not eager to mangle the job. The closest things I have to pruning shears are a bolt cutter and a pair of metal snips ... this young tree deserves better.


I had one "landscape expert" come by to do some simple yard work and let me evaluate his expertise before I asked him to prune anything other than juniper bushes. I had one ancient rhododendron that had 99% died off, except for one small live branch coming out of the seemingly dead wood near ground level. (It was in deep shade, having been overgrown and crowded by several things including an uninteresting evergreen tree).

I had very carefully cut off the dead parts and left 2 feet of deadwood between my last cut and the live branch, so as to avoid risk of harm to the one part of the ex-bush or ex-Rhododendron-tree.

I was pointing RIGHT AT the live branch with its half-dozen or so green leaves, coming out of what looks like dead wood, and asking him how to save it, when he interrupts me by grabbing the remaining dead trunk and wrenching it all out of the ground, live branch and all.

RickCorey said:>> What do you call that ? ... the point where the nurseryman took out the leader ?

"The point of decapitation"?

There might actually be a name, but don't know it.

It's a little hard to be sure, Lyn, but it looks like the three heftiest top branches are still there? I copied and drew on your original pic again. The red, blue and green arrows are the hefty ones, and one of them needs to be completely removed (preferred) or at least cut to half to squelch its lust for dominance. If you have already done that (and I can't see it), they you're good to go. The yellow, orange and white are inconsequential. They will continue to grow as normal good branches.

@Leftwood, Rick ....

You are right. I took at the smaller branch at the lower part of the photo above. Since your original advice was to prune the plant in the spring after it bloomed, I'll take a go at it when it stops blooming. For now, here are a couple of shots of the blooms.









Thanks for taking a second look.

Smiles,
Lyn