What Are Your Magnolia Leaves Trying to Tell You?
The appearance of your magnolia leaves can be one of the first ways to spot the tell-tale signs that your magnolia tree is struggling with a disease. Disease isn't the only thing to look out for. Sometimes we don't have as much of a "green thumb" as we would like to believe, in which case the leaves of our magnolia tree are a good indicator as to whether it is being cared for properly. We are going to talk about the characteristics of a healthy magnolia tree, as well as characteristics of the leaves that can be potential signs of disease or neglect.
A healthy magnolia tree is truly a sight to behold, particularly the Magnolia Grandiflora species, aka the "Southern Magnolia". These trees are the pinnacle of "Southern" gardening in the United States, which is why it's no surprise that it is the state tree of Mississippi and the state flower of Louisiana. The southern magnolia tree is native to the southeastern area of the United States, particularly parts of Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida.
The magnolia tree grows to an adult height of around 50 feet, but it can grow as high as 90 feet in optimum conditions! Magnolia leaves are oval-shaped and can grow to be about eight inches in length and anywhere from two to five inches in width. The outward lush green color and shiny appearance of the top of the leaves can be quite deceiving as to the back, which is leathery to the touch and often a duller shade than the top portion. The wood of the magnolia is fairly smooth and very hard and heavy, which makes it a popular candidate for furniture and pallets. The flowers produced by this tree are perhaps what some might argue to be the best feature of the tree. The elegant white flowers appear quite dainty with layers of six to twelve petals per flower. Although the average diameter for a magnolia flower is about six inches, they have been known to grow as large as 12 inches in diameter.
If you are having trouble comparing the previous description with the magnolia tree out in your garden, then your tree is either unhealthy or is not a magnolia at all. Have a really good look at the magnolia leaves--do the tissues of the leaves appear scorched? Leaf scorch is a condition that causes the tree's leaves to turn yellow or red, and in severe cases the leaves may turn brown and begin to wither or curl up. There are many things that can cause leaf scorch, particularly nutrient deficiency, drought, inadequate soil, hindered root growth, and especially very hot, dry weather. The good news about leaf scorch is that the tree can usually recover from this condition as long as the cause behind the condition is pin-pointed and corrected.
Leaf tatter is another condition to keep an eye out for, as this is a very common affliction for trees. As you can probably guess, the key "symptom" of this illness is an overall tattered appearance. The leaves may also develop holes and become discolored. The leaves may remain attached to the tree all throughout the year until autumn finally forces them to fall away. This tends to emphasize the sickly look of the tree. The most likely cause for this is damage done to the budding leaves during the early spring due to an unexpected frost. The frost-injured leaves may be killed before they are even able to grow, however those that don't die straight away may bear the scars for the remainder of the year. Although this type of condition can put a damper on your enjoyment of the tree, the unsightly tattering of leaves only lasts for that one year. Next year, the leaves should bud without any influence from the previous year's chilly temperatures, but they will still be susceptible to any late frosts that may happen in the future.
As you can probably imagine, there are many other afflictions that could produce a variety of symptoms in your magnolia tree. If the trunk or bark of the tree appears to be suffering from a disease, such as a mold-like growth or a blackening in color, you may wish to call in a specialist to see about a diagnosis and to determine whether you will be able to save the tree.