Decidious Magnolias

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rcmartin Hanover, PA(Zone 6a) Apr 15, 2011

I transplanted a Decidious Magnolia (white flowers-I do not know the name of it, but it is suppose to stay under 10') in 2008. The tree is approximately 78" tall.

The tree did well that year and bloomed in 2009. However, in 2010 and 2011 it did not bloom. Is this normal? Is there a way to stimulate blooming?

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HoosierGreen Danville, IN Apr 15, 2011

Lots of reasons for no bloom: not enough sun, poor soil, drought the summer before resulting in poor to no bud set, and / or late frost which kills the flower buds that had formed the year before. Do any of these conditions apply to your magnolia? If it blooms white, early in the spring, it is most likely a star magnolia. One way to stimulate bloom the next year is to apply about a cup of phosphate this spring, working it into the soil out to the tips of the branches (drip-line). You can buy phosphate as "phosphate". "super phosphate", or "triple phosphate". Epsoma and Hi-Yield are two brands. Be sure to mulch the tree, too. Star magnolias are usually very reliable bloomers.

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ViburnumValley Scott County, KY(Zone 5b) Apr 15, 2011

See if you can send us a picture of your situation.

A first guess: transplantation usually necessitates reduction of roots, from which the plant incurs stresses. Depending on exact dates of when this occurred in 2008, the plant may have already had bloom buds set which then opened the following spring of 2009.

Meanwhile, the plant has been putting resources into recreating root volumes so that it can support the above-ground stems/branches/leaves, etc. like it used to before it was transplanted. The plant is less likely to invest as many resources into reproductive structures (like flowers) during this time. Two years of recovery is not an excessive amount of time to recreate the former root volume, depending on how big this plant was and how many roots were left behind in the move.

Taking a soil test will yield additional information about the growing conditions for your magnolia, and recommendations on fertilization based on those results.

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CoreHHI Bluffton, SC(Zone 9a) Apr 21, 2011

Down South we use Epsoma salt on magnolias. If it's still alive now then I would think it's fine just hit it with some epsoma salt.

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