The magnolia impresses with its extraordinarily beautiful flowers. Here you can find out everything about the flowering period and what you can do if there is no flowering.

The magnolia is easy to recognize by its blossom

Nobody can easily escape the magic of the blossoms of the magnolia (Magnolia). The lush flowering trees not only bring spring into the garden, but also into numerous cities. Here you can find out why the magnolia does not bloom.

Magnolias are one of the very old plants and are over 100 million years old. Their flowers are correspondingly original. The petals are arranged in a spiral and have no fixed number. The same is true of the stamens. This makes the magnolia blossoms a relic from ancient times. But it is by no means old-fashioned. On the contrary, because no one can resist the beauty of its large flowers.

When is the flowering season of the magnolia?

The magnolia is an absolute early bloomer. Some species begin to unfold their splendor as early as March. Among the first are the white flowers of the star magnolia (Magnolia stellaria). The tulip magnolias (Magnolia x soulangeana) are not long in coming, before the purple magnolias (Magnolia liliifolia ) bloom. Since the leaves only emerge after flowering, the white to pink flowers shine all the more. The flowering lasts about three weeks if there is no late frost in between - magnolia blossoms are sensitive to this and turn brown. If you live in a region where late frosts are common, you should definitely plant a late-flowering type of magnolia.

The blossom of the magnolia shines in white to pink-red colors for about three weeks

Magnolia not blooming

There can be many reasons why the magnolia does not bloom. So don't worry, it's often just a matter of time.

Magnolia not flowering: possible reasons for a missing flower

There are various reasons for a lack of flowering in magnolias:

  • The plant is too young: Before magnolias settle on their blossomsfocus, they first have to grow themselves. Blossoms are basically only used for reproduction and need a lot of strength - so young magnolias are actually still children. It can take up to ten years for the magnolia to form its first flowers. This depends on the type and variety, but also on whether the magnolia was grown from seeds or cuttings.
  • Frost is the most common reason for the magnolia not blooming. Some winters are so cold that the buds freeze. Late frosts can also cause this, because the buds are particularly sensitive just before and during flowering. Some species and varieties are also not sufficiently frost tolerant. Frost-sensitive species often react to cold winters by not flowering. The flowering becomes even more sensitive if you fertilized your magnolia until autumn last year.
  • Pruning: In early autumn, the magnolia forms its buds for the coming year. If you cut your tree back too late, the magnolia will stop flowering. Even radical pruning leads to a loss of flowering for some time, as the magnolia first has to recover and gather new strength.
  • Autumn drought: Forming flowers is exhausting and takes a lot of strength. Above all, the magnolia needs a lot of water. If you have ever looked closely at a magnolia blossom, you will have noticed how thick the fleshy leaves are. A lot of water is needed for this. If the autumn stays dry, the plant lacks sufficient water. The magnolia uses the little water that is left for its own growth rather than for reproduction.
  • Wrong location: If the magnolia doesn't feel comfortable in its location, then it doesn't want to bloom. Therefore, check the location of your magnolia.
Magnolias plant the buds for the flowers in the previous year

Magnolia not blooming: What to do if there is no bloom?

As many different causes as there are, there can be as many measures for a bloom. First try to find out which of the reasons might apply to your magnolia. If it is because your plant is too young, then the only thing that helps is simply waiting. If an incorrect pruning from the previous year is the reason for the lack of buds and flowers, here is how best to prune your magnolia.

When it comes to the weather, it gets more difficult. You can counteract autumn drought with a little water in dry autumns. Is the frost to blamethen it is best to check your variety more closely. Perhaps your magnolia is not sufficiently frost tolerant. If so, you might want to give your specimen to a friend or relative in warmer climes and get a more hardy magnolia. But even frost-tolerant varieties have a bad hand in particularly cold winters. So even if you make all the conditions optimal, there will always be years without a magnolia blossom.

Finally, it helps to check the location. Maybe your magnolia doesn't feel comfortable in its location. Then you should take the effort and move the plant before it is too big for it. However, keep in mind that a change of location also puts the plant under stress. So the following year your magnolia will almost certainly not bloom again as it needs to get used to the new environment.

The right care contributes significantly to good flowering. Since the magnolia should be supplied with sufficient nutrients every year, compost or primarily organic slow-release fertilizers in organic quality such as our Plantura organic universal fertilizer are recommended.

Here you can find out everything you need to know about how to fertilize magnolias and in this article you will find all the important information about pruning.

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Trees