I live in San Antonio, and my little gem magnolia tree is disappointing me. It is 6 years old and about 8 ft tall. It is not full, about half the leaves are usually brown, and the bloom died in 3 weeks this year (like every year).

It gets half a day of sun. I read that magnolias can do well in part shade. The below link has some pictures of it. Is my tree diseased, or am I doing something else wrong?

https://postimg.cc/gallery/wDQ4SBZ

Is it staying too wet? I know that Magnolia's like well drained, sandy areas. I think the key for them is to get water and then dry out.

That would surprise me, being in San Antonio. It lives in a flat backyard, and when it rains, water doesn't accumulate there for days or something. But it's definitely not sandy ground. Mulch and then black dirt.

I was walking along my street the other day, and I noticed I have the runt of the litter in my yard. Every other magnolia tree on my street is probably twice as big as mine (all our houses were built within a few months of each other in 2012).

Mine doesn't look sick, but it rarely blooms. I don't think I got a single flower this spring. Other trees on my street had tons of blooms.

Found your answer:

The runt of the litter...

I wonder if that's what was planted in my yard! My tree definitely looks different compared to all the others.

That tree looks like it's planted very low.

• I would get that spray head lowered . You don't want the water hitting the leaves of the tree. That could be causing some of your problems. I bet that spray pattern is hitting right at the bald area of the tree.
• I think your tree needs more sun. Can you cut back that Crape Myrtle and some of those other shrubs around it?
• I would also have the soil tested. You could be low on some nutrients.
• Have you used a Weed and Feed type product around the tree?

I hate my magnolias. Drop leaves year round.

Ha! There you go. Also noticed that it said little gems prefer full sun

The crepe myrtle is my neighbor's. I asked him to cut it back and he did, but not as much as I was hoping for. I'll look into the other things and report back.

As others have mentioned Little Gems prefer full sun and well draining soil that is slightly acidic (not a fan of alkaline soils). They will get 20' tall and 10' wide. Little Gems don't drop leaves as much as the bid daddy southern Magnolia. Also they don't like it to get too dry. Hows the irrigation coverage in that bed?

my magnolia died over the winter. can't wait to cut it down this fall.

We used to pour a mixture of vinegar (?) and water on ours and it did just well in the high desert. Good luck.

The irrigation doesn't hit that bed too much. There is a sprinkler head in the corner of the yard, and it does spray onto the tree, like builder suggested trying to avoid. But it sprays far into the yard, not in the bed.

Builder93 said:

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That tree looks like it's planted very low.

• I would get that spray head lowered . You don't want the water hitting the leaves of the tree. That could be causing some of your problems. I bet that spray pattern is hitting right at the bald area of the tree.
• I think your tree needs more sun. Can you cut back that Crape Myrtle and some of those other shrubs around it?
• I would also have the soil tested. You could be low on some nutrients.
• Have you used a Weed and Feed type product around the tree?

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I googled using Weed and Feed on a tree and multiple sources said it was harmful. Have you had good success with that?

I did dig back some of the mulch, but it's just planted too low and the root flare can't really get exposed.

The spray pattern DOES hit the bald spot. It also hits some of the leaves. I will lower it I think.

Good Bull Jones 17 said:

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Builder93 said:

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That tree looks like it's planted very low.

• I would get that spray head lowered . You don't want the water hitting the leaves of the tree. That could be causing some of your problems. I bet that spray pattern is hitting right at the bald area of the tree.
• I think your tree needs more sun. Can you cut back that Crape Myrtle and some of those other shrubs around it?
• I would also have the soil tested. You could be low on some nutrients.
• Have you used a Weed and Feed type product around the tree?

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I googled using Weed and Feed on a tree and multiple sources said it was harmful. Have you had good success with that?

I did dig back some of the mulch, but it's just planted too low and the root flare can't really get exposed.

The spray pattern DOES hit the bald spot. It also hits some of the leaves. I will lower it I think.

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Weed and Feed is bad for young woody plants but applied a the correct rate granularly, it shouldn't affect the tree. The best natural thing to keep weeds down is just good healthy soil. We tend to mix plants together that have different nutrient and watering needs. It's hard to balance things out. Plus, all of the chemicals we use inhibit the good microbes in a healthy soil like you would find where trees grow really big......a forest.

I can't entirely tell from the picture, but it appears that is a rotor in the corner. That needs to be moved out to the grass area and you really need a drip zone for your trees and shrubs. I bet the majority of your problem is the water spraying onto the leaves, especially if it's a rotor. That's a pretty hard stream hitting the leaves. If you have a high sodium content in the water it can cause salt scalding on the leaves,

I'd start with the sprinkler head.