Question
Hi Jim, My parents gave me a magnolia tree that was in their backyard. We are in minnesota, zone 4. I transplanted this tree fall of 2006 and this spring small buds appeared,then 1 flower, and a few small leaves. In the last few weeks the tree has lost its' leaves, and appears dormant or dead. This tree has been treated with food spikes, a root developing product and watered well on a normal basis. The other day I did notice a few branches that seemed to snap, but also some that would bend and not snap. Should I be cutting the size down to help the tree take root? Thank you Jim.

Answer
Make sure they are mulched with not more then 3 inches of mulch and keep watered when it does not rain. I would wait before I pruned the non leaving branches. hardwood after a frost kill will normally re-foliate. The way to tell if a branch is alive is to scrape a small bit of bark off the branch near the end and if the color under the bark is green the branch is still alive . If the color is brown the the branch id dead at this point on the branch. If brown continue down the branch until you find green. You can either prune the brown part off or wait and see what happens and prune later. Keep the tree watered during dry spells.