Two leaders on magnolia grandiflora


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Old 06-29-19, 11:17 AM
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Two leaders on magnolia grandiflora

I heard that I should trim out one of these leaders on my evergreen magnolia. I’m in Southern California and the tree has been in the ground for about three years, it’s about 10 feet tall.

Any thoughts on pruning this?
 
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Old 06-29-19, 01:58 PM
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It's a bit late but I usually pick the strongest of the two. Then I attach a piece of bamboo or a wooden dowel to the trunk and tie it to the remaining leader to help pull it up into a more vertical position. Depending on how you attach it you need to check every several months to make sure your ties are not choking or girdling the tree as it grows.
 
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Old 07-06-19, 02:55 PM
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Unsafe or ugly?

What is the risk of these two leaders?

will it get huge and one branch break off and squash my kids or just look stupid because it’s wider than it is tall?

also, will leaving these two leaders keep it from growing to full height?

just wondering because The leaders kind of look like they were trained intentionally at the nursery...
 
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Old 07-06-19, 07:04 PM
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I would leave it alone....for now. Watch year by year and make a decision later.
 
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Old 07-07-19, 04:20 AM
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The magnolia will not grow wider than it is tall. Even with two leaders it will still take on a pretty normal magnolia form. Magnolia's grow at a medium rate and are pretty resistant to storm damage. So I wouldn't be too concerned about a leader breaking off. Keep in mind that 99.99% of all trees grow in the wild without any help from us. They are pretty good at doing what they do.
 
 

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