I need help in diagnosing this illness for a magnolia!

Columbus (Berwick), OH(Zone 5b)

My grandmother has a magnolia in her front yard. The leaves are becoming spotted and falling off. This has been going on for the last coouple of years. She said it is getting worse. I had her send me some leaves and I have photographed them. I am not sure what kind of magnolia she has. The leaves were dried out by the time I received them. So the color is off. She lives in zone 7. Is this caused by a virus, bacteria, soil difieciency?? What can she do?? Any advice would be appreciated. Here is the top view.

Thumbnail by CWBYNCMH
Columbus (Berwick), OH(Zone 5b)

And here is a view for the bottom.

Thumbnail by CWBYNCMH
Westbrook, ME(Zone 5a)

It looks like a fungal or bacterial disease. Pseudomonas syringae is a bacterial disease that will infect magnolias. http://images.google.com/images?q=Pseudomonas+syringae&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&start=20&sa=N

The only thing you can really do is spray with a fungicide. A spray program should start early in the season as the tree buds out and conitinue through the summer. Any leaf litter from the tree should be raked up and destroyed (not composted). It might help to take a branch with the infected leaves to your local nursery and see what they suggest for sprays.

Columbus (Berwick), OH(Zone 5b)

Thank you for your help!
Upon further investigation, you may indeed be right. If the plant is under stress from climatic sources or location, which I believe it is, it is very likely a disease causing the problem. Everything I am reading gives the indication that this will have to be treated continually. She is not going to like that.

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