On Apr 17, 8:12*am, 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.

Out of curiosity, does it flower well. By that, I mean on the new(ish)
shoots. The main problem I find with magnolias and pruning is not that
they don't like it, as such, but that the burst into what, if left
unmanaged, will become an abundance of non-flowering/useless shoots.
A bit like Lilacs (syringa)