Hoovb,
Right off the bat, I will tell you that is planted too deep.
Too much of the bark is below the soil level.
Please read on internet about planting a magnolia.

I just bought a magnolia today, an evergreen, a michelia, and it says part sun.
The woman at the nursery said that if you live in an area with very hot weather in summer, (our sun is wicked), part shade would probably be best.
So, my advise is to dig it up, pot it up, and see where else you can plant it so the leaves won't fry.
Some people will tell you full sun is fine, honestly it really depends on where you live, and you know if the sun is wicked where you live or not.
Like they say in the south, a little afternoon shade will be appreciated. LOL

Is Magnolia stellata regularly grown in your area, hoovb?

Here, they are all over the place, but we average over 50 inches of rain per annum. Stellatas here are still very green. Would post a pic, but since I updated my iPad, it is useless.

I brushed away the mulch. The trunk flare is fully exposed and above ground. If it was higher a lot of root system would be exposed. The roots are the roots of the tree:

{{gwi:435886}}

No, what is planted here is M. grandiflora and various versions of Magnolia x soulangeana. They do very well.