Magnolia Move

[Mr Grinch]

Morning all,

Ive finally made it out of my winter hibernation. Ive heard its been a bad one this year
New season, old problem, hopefully new solution.
My Magnolias "Susan" recently over the last two years has been sick. The flower buds form, then shrivel and die, the leaves appear but look yellowy and gets mildew. Ive had it now for 4 years and it grows but never looks right.
It was in a SW facing border, clay soil. I thought the soil was acid as there a loads of them around here but maybe im wrong. Ive heard that they dont like wind or very hot sun. This was placed against a fence so i thought these conditions might not be the best.
Looking at it this year, there are no flower buds, a few leave buds showing and a bit of die back, so i made the decision to put it in a tub. This i have done, with lots of John Innes Ericacious and watered in well and placed in a sot that faces NW, doesn't get that much sun, a little in the afternoon and maybe a little reflected sun in the morning.
First of all, have i done the right thing by putting it in a tub and secondly does the position sound ok ? Has anyone else got "susan" in their garden ?

Any help much appreciated.

Regards
G

[Spruance]

I have no personal experience of growing magnolias, Mr G but I recall a friend who had one saying that they hated having their roots disturbed even to the point of avoiding walking around the base of the tree. Magnolia 'Susan' can grow up to 10ft tall (in open ground) so I am not sure that a tub is necessarily the best approach.

Anyway, I will have to resort to plagiarism to advise you further so first off we have this from Dr Hessayon's 'The Flowering Shrub Expert':-

..."Make sure you have room for the specimen you have chosen..." and "Nearly all need to be grown away from touching shrubs so they can show their full beauty and the time for planting is April and not autumn. Choose a spot which is away from a frost pocket and is sheltered from northerly and easterly winds. Add plenty of peat to the soil and don't plant too deeply. Water the new bush copiously if there is a drought and never dig or plant close to the stem. Each spring mulch with a layer of compost."..."Site & Soil: Any reasonable garden soil will do, but many varieties do not like chalk. Thrives in sun or light shade."

My 'RHS A to Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants' offers the following...

..."Flowers, and sometimes young foliage may be damaged by late frosts."... "Grow in moist, well drained. humus-rich, preferably acid to neutral soil in sun or partial shade with shelter from strong winds."

So on the whole I think that a tub might not be the best solution as there will be a tendency for it to dry out unless you keep on top of the watering.

That's the best I can offer I'm afraid. i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd161/GWDAdmin1/Smilies/Default/smiley.gif

[Mr Grinch]

Tough one this. Thanks for the info.
I had to move it, as it was very sickly where it was, but where to put it ? The soil in the garden during summer gets dry, so this maybe part of the problem and maybe it needs a Ericacious boost.
Im stuck