Hi, I have just refurbished my house and garden, normally lawnmower is a sheep or two!? Now having put so many man hours in livestock are locked out. I have planted about 70 planters on the patio area and its keeping me rather busy. I have a 2ft magnolia in a pot and the leaves are starting to turn brown and look as though they are dying. I am so confused after looking on the internet as I have read conflicting info. Is this normal,or do you suspect snail/slug activity? I have read that the specimen is evergreen and also deciduous. Many thanks in advance for any advise, thanks.

flowerdale wrote:
Hi, I have just refurbished my house and garden, normally lawnmower
is a sheep or two!? Now having put so many man hours in livestock are
locked out. I have planted about 70 planters on the patio area and
its keeping me rather busy. I have a 2ft magnolia in a pot and the
leaves are starting to turn brown and look as though they are dying.
I am so confused after looking on the internet as I have read
conflicting info. Is this normal,or do you suspect snail/slug
activity? I have read that the specimen is evergreen and also
deciduous. Many thanks in advance for any advise, thanks.

Slugs and snails eat the leaves. Are the leaves eaten?

Hi, no the leaves are not eaten. It is the top few leaves that are starting to turn, nothing at the bottom. I wondered if there was something in the soil. I used pre-purchased compost and sand but my own organic matter to pot them.Thanks.

On 9/15/2010 5:19 PM, flowerdale wrote:
snip...
I have read that
the specimen is evergreen and also deciduous. Many thanks in advance for
any advise, thanks.


Evergreen or deciduous depends on what sort of magnolia you have. Magnolia
grandiflora http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnolia_grandiflora is evergreen
where it is hardy and has leaves which are waxy and so stiff that they
rattle in the wind -- almost like they were made of plastic.

In my experience they are close to unkillable and I can't imagine any beast
eating on it. I have the remains of a huge specimen in my yard which I
forced to cut down five years ago. Despite having the stump ground and all
major roots dug out I'm still forced to hack away at and spray the new
growth which comes up several times every year.

flowerdale wrote:

It is the top few leaves that are
starting to turn, nothing at the bottom


Could be from drying out from under watering, or a hot or windy spell
before the root are established or root damage from over watering or
poor drainage, over fertilizing, fungi, insects or ?
Could be pesticide damage.
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09=IX