Hello. I had a small southern magnolia that I planted in my front yard two years ago. Last fall the deer in the area trampled it. I left the one stalk that was sticking out of the ground to see if it would grow back. When spring came there is a pod that looked like a leaf was going to grow off the one branch that was sticking out of the stalk. However that leaf just shriveled up and died. Now there are a bunch of leaves growing from the base of the stalk. My question is should I cut back the branch that had the dying leaves? Should I cut back the stalk any further? This tree was given to me to plant in memory of my dog and I would very much like to save it.
Damaged Young Southern Magnolia
Let the growing stems with new leaves grow through the rest of this season. Come fall, prune off any wood that hasn't produced any growth.
Meanwhile, protect the growing stems from future deer damage. Wire caging is probably the smart way to go. Next year, choose one of the stems to encourage to become the new central leader/trunk, and remove the rest.
Thank you for responding! So I should leave the branches that have no growth until the fall?
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