Port Wine Magnolias as screening

[suequarford]

Hi Guys

Am planning a garden bed along the front of my front yard. It faces Nth East and is very sunny. I love port wine magnolias and am thinking they'd make a good screening plant? Anyone have any bad experiences or knowledge of why they may not suit?

Very interested in your thoughts

Thanks

Sue

[Jason]

Fantastic result @suequarford. Many thanks for sharing the photo - I'm sure your work will inspire others and we look forward to watching them grow. 

Jason

[boatbloke]

Nice post and I reckon the new hedgeline will look great in a year or so.

I have a more established line of Magnolias along my front (north side) fence on Sydney's Northern Beaches (not right on the coast).

Unfortunately, I hadn't picked up the advice about regular tip pruning to get bushiness. The  result is that we now have 2.5m high and a bit sparse around the lower branches.

Is there any way to encourage growth lower down? Or should I just get an underplanting in there of something new?

[Jason]

Welcome to the community @boatbloke and many thanks for joining in the discussion.

Let me tag @Adam_W and @Noelle for you so they can help when they get a chance.  

Please feel free to post anytime you need a hand with something around the house or garden. We look forward to reading more about your projects and plans. 

Thanks again,

Jason

[Noelle]

Hi @boatbloke 

You can tip prune the top growth to encourage side growth lower down to fill the plants out, but it may take a couple of years to achieve the look you're after.  Magnolias have a tendency to produce strong upright shoots if pruned too severely, so don't go in hard.

Take out the top 30cm or so of the main upright shoots now, and then next winter repeat that pruning technique to force the trees to produce more side shoots next spring. You might not be able to get them to fill out right down low but they will certainly look better for the effort you put in.

Regular tip pruning through the growing season is best - nipping off just the growing tips.

[boatbloke]

Hi Noelle,
thank you for this advice,
Coincidentally, we were planning to have a go at the top of the plants this weekend, so I will be careful to not go too heavy handed.
and then keep the tip truning going through the summer,
We have a great bunch of flowers at present - shows that feeding in winter/spring was a good idea

[suequarford]

Hi All,

Just thought I'd post an update on how all this is looking :). Port Wine Magnolias are going really well and growing faster than I expected. Camellia Sasanquas are also thriving!

[Jason]

Looking fantastic @suequarford. Many thanks for the update.

Jason

[mich1972]

I love it when our Port Wine Magnolia is in  flower @suequarford . I always open the window and front door to let the heavy fragrance of PK Chewing Gum waft into the house 🤣😍

[suequarford]

Yes, their fragrance is one of my favourites and a big part of my choice for planting them 😍.  

[StevieB]

Hi @suequarford,

How are your Port Wine Magnolias going? It would be wonderful to see another update.

Stevie