How do you care for a southern magnolia to keep the leaves from turning yellow?

Is it getting too much water? I thought they liked a lot of moisture??? Or perhaps that is normal??? Any help would be appreciated!!! Thanks!

How do you care for a southern magnolia to keep the leaves from turning yellow?
Give the magnolia a couple of handfulls of lime. Then add several handfuls of Ironite, along with a little 10-10-10
Reply:Is it the older leaves. The trees shed off their older leaves this time of year. You can put some epsom salt water around the tree if you really concerned If it is not raining an inch a week the tree should be watered. If it is limbed up mulch out to the drip line but make sure the mulch does not come in contact with the trunk. Mags have quite a number of feeder roots near the surface and can dry out so the mulch will retain moisture and look nice as nothing really grows under a large mag. good luck from


keeper of the campus of a thousand magnolias
Reply:Well I don't know if it is getting too much water! Did you check how wet the ground is? Magnolia's love acid fertilizer and also they love coffee grounds! Do you live in a cold climate? If you do and you are just in the Spring season, it is probably normal! I live in the Northeast and my leaves are yellow. My garden center told me to mix 4 Tablespoons of Mir-acid in 2 gal. of water. Feed your Magnolia this once a week for 3 weeks and see if it doesn't make a difference. It definitely helped mine. I just planted 2 of them last year. Actually, mine aren't southern magnolia's but it should work the same and help green up those leaves!
Reply:Moderate amounts of water. If the leaves are turning yellow, that's usually indicative of lack of nitrogen and higher than preffered acidic conditions. Check the PH balance of your soil and find a reference guide or someone at a local nursery to advise.