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Can I treat my Grandiflora magnolia tree?

My magnolia grandiflora seems to be dying. The tree is 10-15 yrs old & has always been very healthy with strong healthy foliage and beautiful large white flowers. This year, In the last few weeks, I have noticed a dramatic decline in the health of the tree - see attached photos.

I have looked for answers on the web and feel that the logical diagnosis is the tree is suffering from fungal disease but I cannot be sure. The treatment is not reassuring and the suggestion seems to be that it may not survive very long, the soil it is planted in needs to be treated & left bare for several years as it won’t be suitable for future planting.

Is there a treatment I can try myself? Should I seek professional advice? Should I have the tree removed for the sake of other plants?
Appreciate any advice you offer

Whole treeDying branchesHealthy branches next to dying ones

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Comments

Jason

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Pomodoro24. It's great to have you join us.

Sorry to see your beautiful tree is struggling. Let me tag the wonderful @Noelle to see if she might be able to diagnose the issue from your photos and description, and suggest next steps for you.

Jason

Noelle

Hi @Pomodoro24

The symptoms are not consistent with a fungal disease, in my opinion. A soil-borne disease would affect most of the tree, with the younger leaves and branches being affected first.

It looks more like a damage or watering problem to me. Cut off the dead branches to prevent dieback and then look at whether the tree is being over- or under-watered. It may be that your location has received more than average rainfall this year which could be affecting it. The photos seem to show isolated branch/es rather than overall dying. It's a bit hard to give an accurate diagnosis from a couple of images, especially when cultural and location details are scarce.

Pomodoro24

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/35246#Comment_35246

Thanks for your response Noelle - I’m working my way thru the tree and it seems that whatever is doing the damage is spreading. Some time ago I had a very similar problem with a espaliered climbing camellia - there the problem was identified as ‘camellia scale’ and this looks very similar

Do you (Bunnings staff) do consultations? I’m not a gardener & I worry about making the problem worse & or losing the tree

thank you

MitchellMc

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/79931#Comment_79931

Hi @Pomodoro24,

Bunnings doesn't currently have a garden consultation service for plants. You could bring some of the dying leaves into your nearest Bunnings store. We quite often have horticulturalists working in our nursery areas. It is best to call before you head in to ensure one is working that day.

Mitchell

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