bob wrote:
When I took over this garden there were already two small (so I guess,
young) stellatas but in a hopelessly unsuitable position to allow them
to grow without limit.

At this time they were orb-ish in shape, about 1 metre diameter.
Against most of the advice I've scratched around for, I've been
cutting these back - either just an overall hedge-type trim or
occasionally lopping off thicker branches to encourage newer growth
which seems to develop readily - and they are still alive if not quite
as lush or symmetrical as when I arrived. Also they're taking on more
of a pear-shape, orb at the top and some new growth at the bottom,
which isn't so bad.

Is this treatment doomed to failure? Will they give up at some point
and just die or is there a pruning regimen which will improve their
chances and keep up a good show of flowers each year while keeping the
plant compact. Most advice I've stumbled on suggests the stellata
doesn't like to be pruned.

They've just finished flowering now, not too bad a display and I'm
about to start cutting back.

Thanks for any advice.

A few houses away from me there is a Magnolia stellata about 3 metres high
and across in a very rounded-mushroom shape - like an orange with the bottom
cut off. It can only be kept this way by careful pruning, and there are a
lot of branches. Every year (and this year was no exception) it is
smothered in blooms - as far as I can tell, more densely than with unpruned
specimens.

Just think how badly it would perform if it could read the gardening
books...

--
Jeff