A magnolia grows in such a disciplined manner that pruning is a rarity. At the age of 30 to 50 years, the beautiful flowers boast a picturesque crown up to 8 meters wide. Interventions with scissors and saws are disruptive. Nevertheless, a pruning can be useful. This tutorial gives a hands-on explanation of when and how to prune your magnolia without deforming the floral gem. Important technical terms are explained in a practical and comprehensible manner.

A magnolia rarely needs pruning

Table of Contents

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  1. Why cut?
  2. Best time to cut
  3. build-up cut
  4. Crown slimming
  5. Explanation of terms cutting technique
  6. cutting profile
  7. frequently asked Questions

    8. Why can a cut make sense? - two occasions are in focus

    Magnolias have an aversion to pruning of all kinds. Using scissors will neither improve the willingness to bloom nor revitalize growth. On the contrary, regular pruning usually results in a deformed habit. The excursus below sums up why this is so.

    When magnolia gardeners reach for the scissors, there is a tangible reason. First and foremost, the high purchase prices for early young magnolias are the decisive motive. Saving foxes prefer to buy a cheap young plant with a height of 60 cm in order to direct it to an opulent flowering bush with a targeted pruning.

    Proud owners of a majestic magnolia always grab the saw when the spreading crown has become a serious obstacle. In the course of a pruning, the expansive magnolia tree is prescribed a slimming diet. This requires a good deal of sensitivity and the instructions in this tutorial for a shape cut.

    digression

    growth of magnolias

    Magnolias thrive as so-called valuable flowering shrubs, characterized by acrontal growth. In concrete terms, this means that new shoots arise primarily from end buds and the upper side buds of the branches. As a result, a harmonious crown structure rich in flowers develops, which pruning cannot optimize. In contrast, simple flowering shrubs such as forsythia are characterized by basitones to mesones growth. Here the branches sprout from the base and the middle shoot segments. As a result, simple ornamental trees age within a few years, which makes regular pruning or radical regeneration every 3 years unavoidable.

    When is the best time to cut?

    The right time for a cut on magnolias needs to be chosen carefully. The ornamental trees already put on their buds for the next flowering period in the autumn of the previous year. You can admire the voluminous blooms at the ends of the shoots throughout the winter. Furthermore, an intense juice pressure builds up from the rootstock. Therefore, after a cut in the middle of the growing season, a strong flow of sap can be observed at the cut wounds. This process not only affects the appearance. If a magnolia bleeds, valuable reserve substances are lost, which are later missing for the growth of flowers and leaves. These dates have proven themselves in practice:

    • Topiary to slim the crown: in late summer, in good time before the buds are formed
    • Pruning: in the spring, after the end of the frost period

    As long as the shoots of a young magnolia to be cut are as thick as a pencil, there will be no appreciable sap flow. The best time for pruning is immediately after planting in spring. Ideally, late ground frosts should no longer be expected.

    Instructions for the assembly cut

    As a premium tree, young magnolias measuring just 60 centimeters cost a whopping 45 to 50 euros. Larger specimens with a height of 100 to 150 centimeters cost a whopping 100 euros and more. Who would like to max out their gardening budget with a single plant? Price-conscious home gardeners are content with a magnolia in mini format and subject it to a pruning. That is how it goes:

    • Cut back main shoots by a maximum of half
    • Shorten existing side branches by a third
    • Make every cut on bud

    The build-up cut acts as the initial spark for a naturally beautiful crown build-up over a short trunk. Further cutting measures are not required. On the contrary, interfering with the growth of a magnolia regularly results in bitter disappointment for the gardener.

    tips

    Magnolias shed dead petals on their own. If this process is too slow for you, simply clean up faded flowers. Start the scissors below the first or second pair of leaves below the withered flower. At this point, no intensive sap flow is to be feared.

    Slimming the protruding crown - this is how a shape cut succeeds

    The expansive growth of a magnolia crown is often underestimated. If you constantly collide with the spreading branches on garden paths, the shortcoming reduces the joy of the majestic tree. A prudent slimming down using the pruning saw is the best solution to the problem. With this cut you bring the magnolia into shape:

    • Preferably remove long, old branches completely, as shown in the figure below
    • Trim to astring when cutting out
    • Alternatively, transfer an unfavorably positioned old branch to a younger side branch

    Please plan each individual cut carefully. To achieve the goal of a narrower crown with no gaps, first focus on the branches that protrude furthest from the mold. After each cut, step back a few steps to see the result from a distance and choose the next starting point for the saw.

    tips

    Please cut off a thick branch with a diameter of more than 4 centimeters in 3 stages. First place the saw at a distance of 15 to 20 centimeters below and cut a little into the branch. Then move the saw by 5 to 10 centimeters towards the trunk and saw until the branch breaks. In the last step, cut the remaining stub onto a string and smooth the wound with a disinfected knife.

    Cutting technique for beginners - explanation of terms

    Home gardeners are confronted with technical terms related to the construction and topiary of valuable ornamental trees that are not common in everyday practice. Terms such as "cutting on bud", "cutting on branch" and "derivation" stand for a skilful cutting technique on magnolias. In the following, you can read about the procedure behind each technical term:

    cutting on bud

    There is always talk of cutting to the bud when a shoot is shortened. In order for the subsequent growth of fresh branches to proceed smoothly, the scissors must not be used indiscriminately. The cut should be made at a short distance from a shoot bud. Cut too close, the bud dries up and hopes of a fresh shoot are gone. Long stubs, on the other hand, are dangerous sources of infection because the rotting wood attracts fungal pathogens and pests. The figure below shows what to look out for when pruning for bud.

    On the young magnolia shoot, cut a few millimeters above a shoot bud that faces outwards. Holding the scissors at a slight angle allows rainwater to run off more quickly.

    Cutting on knots

    In the transition from the branch to the trunk or leader there is a bulge-shaped thickening, the branch ring. It contains tissue capable of dividing (cambium), which covers a cut from the outside in with fresh bark. This dividing tissue must not be damaged. Position the saw just in front of the branch and saw away from the trunk at a slight angle. Finally, smooth the cut with a knife. The sketch below shows how to do it correctly.

    deriving

    The technical term deriving describes the pruning of an overaged or unfavorably positioned branch onto a side branch below it. This pruning technique is used when you are not completely pruning out an old magnolia branch. Place the scissors or saw after the fork as shown in the figure below. Make the cut diagonally backwards. Now all the juice pressure goes into the younger side shoot and encourages growth. The dreaded gap in the crown cannot occur when deriving.

    Facts about the cut in a nutshell - cut profile

    The growth of magnolias is characterized by individual characteristics that influence professional cutting care. The following profile briefly summarizes all relevant factors:

    • Genus Magnolia with 300 species and numerous garden varieties
    • Origin: mainly East Asia
    • Growth: Deciduous flowering shrub or short-stemmed tree with a spreading crown
    • Special feature: strong sap flow in spring and summer
    • Height: 300 to 900 cm
    • Width: 250 to 800 cm
    • Flowering time: April to May before leaves sprout
    • Planting of the buds: in the autumn of the previous year
    • Special feature: acrotonic growth - flower buds mostly terminal
    • Cut compatibility: limited
    • Hardiness: good, with danger of late frost for inflorescences
    • Toxic: slightly toxic

    By far the most common magnolia in European gardens and parks is the tulip magnolia (Magnolia × soulangeana) with numerous breathtakingly beautiful varieties. For small gardens and front gardens, tree nurseries have more delicate star magnolias (Magnolia stellata) ready, which can remain at a height of 300 centimeters and a width of 200 centimeters.

    frequently asked Questions

    Several large cuts were made when an old magnolia was cut. Is a wound closure agent advisable or not?

    The treatment of wounds on trees and shrubs has proven to be a fallacy. Field trials have shown that sealing cuts does more harm than good to a tree. Tree wax (€12.96) must not be used to prevent the valuable dividing tissue from gradually overflowing the wound. It is enough if you smooth the edges of cuts with a sharp knife and trust the healing powers of your magnolia. The only exception are large-scale wounds that occur before winter. In this case, apply a thin layer of tree wax to the smoothed edges of the wound to protect the dividing tissue from frost damage.

    Can I propagate my magnolia from cuttings?

    The most promising form of propagation is using sinkers if you cultivate a magnolia as a shrub. The offspring with cuttings is explosive in two respects. On the one hand, if you take top cuttings in the middle of the season, you will damage your magnolia. Furthermore, the vegetative propagation of cuttings is associated with a high failure rate. Sowing seeds requires a long patience of up to 6 months for germination. Hybrids thrive, often bearing no resemblance to the mother plant. The first flowering period can be expected after 10 years at the earliest. For these reasons, tree nurseries offer grafted magnolias, the blooms of which unfold after just 2 to 3 years.

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    tips

    Some of the most beautiful magnolias are grafted onto a robust wild rootstock. If, out of the blue, vertical shoots sprout from the root disc, they are fast-growing water shooters, because the game substrate is driving through. Cut off these wild shoots promptly, because they strive to overgrow the noble magnolia.

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Trees