On Fri, 28 May 2004 19:03:32 +0100, "Martin"
wrote:

Hi,

Two weeks ago I planted over 50 plants in the south facing border of a
Lancaster garden.

They all seem to be doing well, except for the 2m Magnolia tree which has a
number of leaves turning yellow.

The soil appears to drain quite well, and certainly not comprised of clay.

I planted the tree in with a peat based fertiliser and a bucket of water.

The last time I watered the Magnolia Tree was last Sunday night, so it may
be that it is just a bit thirsty.

Before I rush out and pour a bucket of water on it's roots, does anyone
think there is anything else I should do? I was toying with the idea of
watering with a very dilute (50%) solution of Miracle Gro...though I have
read that feeding plants too soon after planting is a no no.

TIA

Martin

Was it container grown or bare root planted? I assume the former. But
if the latter, it will require a lot more TLC than if container-grown,
especially during the recent hot, dry weather. Bare root plants are
touchy things. I've successfully killed two in my time :-(

Is your soil acid or alkaline? Most magnolias like an acid to neutral
soil. In alkaline soils the leaves go yellow due to chlorosis, but I
doubt yours has been planted long enough for that to develop.

Have you made sure that it's planted no deeper than it was in its
previous position or container? Magnolias are surface rooting, and if
planted too deep the roots don't get enough air and the plant suffers.

Have you mulched it well with an open-textured mulch such as shredded
bark, peat or preferably leaf mould, to keep the roots cool and moist?

In Treseder's book on magnolias, he recommends saturating the root
balls of container grown plants, and taking care to avoid root
disturbance on planting. He recommends overhead irrigation for
magnolias planted from May to September. I'm not sure if he means some
sort of continuous spray/mist arrangement for the foliage, or just
continuous irrigation of the root area from above. Either way, more
water rather than less seems appropriate.

I recently planted out a bed of camellias from containers, and
although they were well watered in and mulched, one started to show
signs of distress after about a week (drooping new growth), even
though well shaded. This was probably because although the soil itself
was moist, there wasn't sufficient contact between it and the root
ball to keep the latter damp, and of course the roots hadn't got out
into the soil yet. A generous watering recovered the situation.

If overhead irrigation isn't available, Treseder recommends removing
all weaker growths completely, and shortening all remaining side
branches back to a few inches from the stem. I think he must be
referring to bare root plants, because it sounds rather drastic,
although it is similar to what I do when moving established camellias
to reduce transpiration through the leaves and give the roots a
chance.

It may just be the shock of moving, but if it were mine I would water
it two or three times a week for the next few weeks, spray the foliage
daily in the evenings and make sure it's well mulched and planted at
the correct depth.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net