Steve wrote:
vio wrote:

A friend's cherished magnolia had to be taken down earlier this year.
Now, there are about six stems sprouting from the trunk -- about 2 feet
high. Is there any chance one of these could be coaxed back into a
tree? The original was planted to mark a child's birth, so it would be
pleasing if the tree could be "reborn" in this way.


I don't have experience with Magnolia but I can offer some advice if
your friend wants to try to grow the tree back.
I would leave ALL of the sprouted stems for now. The important thing the
first year or so is to keep the roots alive. If there isn't enough top
growth to supply food to the roots, they may die and the project is over.

Steve's whole post is excellent. I agree, first save them all then
see how well each of the new sprouts grow. As another poster remarked,
it may not be possible to get this specific plant to grow in tree form
again, because what has happened by accident is what the English and
the Italians do deliberately, which is to cut out the center of a tree
and let all the sprouts grow to make a big shrubby-looking plant that
is supported by mature roots. The English call it "coppicing". They
often do this several times over a period of decades before the roots
are finally exhausted. I brought back several heirloom apple and
crabapple trees, in upstateNY. It worked, altho the harsh winters
meant the plant had to be protected during the worst of the winter, and
lovingly (sparingly) fertilized with compost. We moved away after
about 5 years, but the final form of the plants at that time was more
like a shrub than a tree.

p.s. from the American Heritage Dictionary: cop·pice
n. A thicket or grove of small trees or shrubs, especially one
maintained by periodic cutting or pruning to encourage suckering, as in
the cultivation of cinnamon trees for their bark.

At some point, maybe 1 1/2 years from now, if all has gone well so far,
start cutting out the extra stems one or 2 a year. If some sprouts are
up high on the trunk and others are sprouting from ground level, the one
to keep is the lowest one. The original trunk will rot eventually and it
would be best if the new trunk was starting fresh at ground level.
Again, I haven't done this with Magnolias (I'm too far north for any
Magnolia). This would be VERY easy to do with a willow or a Silver Maple
and it would never work for some other trees. The fact that there are
about 6 sprouts tells me that the tree has a good chance.

Steve