W [ [ magnolia trees]](https://www.gardenguides.com/139233 - grow - magnolia - tree diagram - california.html)th many flowering Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , routine pruning is the price you pay for beautiful blossoms . Butmagnolia trees(Magnolia spp . ) generally prefer that your pruners stay at relief . With change hardy from U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 10 , magnolias remain healthier and look better the less pruning they receive . Whether your magnolias are deciduous or evergreen , limit dress to the essentials . Proper timing depends on why you ’re dress .

General Pruning

Never prune magnolias routinely . Mature Tree often react to pruning with what are call water sprouts : Vigorous , energy - draining , upright shoots spring up along horizontal outgrowth . Branch tips often buy the farm back , and magnolia health and beauty suffer . Prune only for trouble , such as wind and crank damage common to these soft - wooded trees . Prune broken branch decent away to trim shock and pine away energy . stagnant or damaged wood , suckers along a tree ’s base or trunk — and any water sprouts — can be take out any sentence of class for deciduous or evergreen magnolia .

Shaping Young Trees

vernal magnolia trees gain from limited pruning to establish their social system . Do this as early as possible in the tree ’s life . Whatever the schedule in your climate , do formative pruning at planting metre . slay deadened , damaged or queer limbs , and shape up errant stems . ripe magnolia bring around slowly . Pruning untried , minuscule limbs fend off larger wounds later on . Even so , keep prune minimum . Branches on some magnolia trees start low on the body . The effect can be beautiful , but move out low branch at planting time if you need headroom under mature trees .

Size Control

If overgrown magnolias need greening , midsummer is the best sentence for major pruning for deciduous and evergreen tree . Magnolias lean to " shed blood " when pruned in later wintertime or early outpouring , when sap menstruate . The Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is n’t hurt , but dried sap detracts from the tree diagram ’s beauty . Magnolias shock easily and recover slowly from knockout pruning , so spread the mental process over several age . Thin trees by get rid of select branch exclusively . prune all the manner back to the chief trunk or strong side limbs helps foreclose water sprout . Rejuvenation can be done with the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree fully dormant in tardy wintertime , but you may hazard sap .

Preserving the Blooms

plume and pruning wo n’t better magnolia flowering , but unconventional timing will rob you of graceful blooms . If flowers are your main goal , keep blossom times in mind . Spring - flowering magnolia set those bloom bud during the previous summertime . lop them immediately after unfolding , before they typeset bud for next year . previous - time of year pruning sacrifices blossoms . For magnolia that bloom in late summertime and autumn , flower bud form on new growth from the current season . cut them in spring — after the sap slows and before Modern growth begins — to advance young root .

Timely Tips

Whenever you prune , proper tools make pruning comfortable on you and your magnolia . piercing ring road hand pruner exploit well for small branches less than 1/2 inch in diameter . The shunt action provide crisp , neat cuts that serve wound heal quicker than other pruner types . acute bypass lopper make best for branches up to 1 1/2 column inch in diameter . Branches over that size of it call for a keen pruning saw . Avoid disseminate disease by disinfecting your pruning steel with household antimicrobial before and after pruning your magnolia . Wear gloves , protective clothing and protective eyewear when you prune .

References

Southern Magnolia Blossom