saucer magnolia tree size

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plantoid Castro Valley, CA(Zone 9b) Feb 21, 2007

I need some advice on whether to plant a magnolia tree if I want it to grow no higher than 15 feet. If I trim the tree to limit its size to 15 ft. tall, would flower buds still form on the whole tree or just the bottom of the tree where the older growths are? Are the flower buds formed on old wood(more than 1 year), new growth(less than 1 year), or both?

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kman_blue (Zone 6b) Feb 23, 2007

The flower buds are formed in the late summer and fall of the year before, so any pruning done during or after that time will indeed limit flowering. There are some cultivars of Saucer Magnolia (M. x soulangeana) which don't get bigger than 15'('Lilliputian' only grows to about 10' tall, 'Lennei' grows to about 15' tall). I recommend that you find one of those cultivars and plant it, instead of yearly pruning which will probably eventually lead to weak spots and stress the tree, leaving it more vulnerable to disease and insects(not to mention the potential for a very unnatural looking "bush" IMO).

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treelover3 Minneapolis, MN(Zone 5a) Feb 24, 2007

Pruning will also be followed by "water sprouts" which are unnatural looking branches that grow straight up from where the tree was pruned. It's best to never prune a magnolia soulangeana (soulangiana?) unless absolutely necessary.
Mike



This message was edited Feb 24, 2007 9:12 AM

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Equilibrium Feb 24, 2007

There’s another one out there. Magnolia grandiflora 'Little Gem' grows to about 20’. I don’t think it would look all that great pruned to fit your site though.

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