I see a blurry green tree, but that's about it. I can't see leaf shape, leaf arrangement, or much of anything really. Any chance of some closeups?

Let me snap some close up and then post them. Sorry

man.. what did they do to the juniper in the first pic ... it had to have involved beer ...

magnolia [or whatever] that bloom in october???? or are you talking about spring bloom .. might help to clarify that in regard to an ID

ken

If it is a magnolia (difficult to tell from the photo), its overall form and the way the leaves are held (30� upwards) looks very much like M. stellata.

Certainly looks like one of the Asian species, not the native ones. Magnolia virginiana has silver-backed leaves and the overall habit is wrong for it as well.

Star magnolia. I would have posted earlier but member log in stopped working for me, for a time.

bboy gets the award for directing me to the right identification. Its definitely a Star Magnolia (magnolia stellata). The images of the leafs that I see when I google it match up.

I am seeing the fruit right now which were mistaken as the flowers (I am a rookie).

I'm at this stage in the trees cycle "These magnolias produce a reddish-green, knobby aggregate fruit about 2 in long that matures and opens in early autumn. Mature fruit opens by slits to reveal orange-red seeds, but the fruits often drop before developing fully."

Thanks all

smivies nailed it on the identification also!!! Thanks,

Ken, about that Juniper. We just bought this house so the trees and shrubs are in the condition they are in from the previous owners. How could I shape that Juniper so the leaves are more pronounced on the underside instead of the shrub looking like it got in a fight with a bear?

Thanks

Friends don't let friends make poodle bushes.

Sorry, there isn't any way to force a juniper to regenerate from old wood -- you won't be able to ever cover up those bare stems.

I say a mercy killing is in order.

We just bought this house so the trees and shrubs are in the condition they are in from the previous owners. How could I shape that Juniper so the leaves are more pronounced on the underside instead of the shrub looking like it got in a fight with a bear?

====>>>> you can shape it.. by applying a chain saw about 3 feet above the ground.. and then sharpening the shovel and start digging ... and GET RID OF IT ... using the 3 foot stump to start rocking it back and forth to ID roots that need to be cut ....

it should be on your 2 year plan.. it surely doesnt have to be right now .... but it is an anathema to true conifer peeps ...

your landscape .. w/o checking back today.. from memory [for what that is worth.. lol ].... is overly mature.. and probably relates back to the original landscape ... though nothing needs immediate work ... you should start thinking about renovating the whole ... one plant at a time ... what one might call.. a 5 year plan ... unless of course.. the checkbook allows for immediate gratification ...

i will check the pix later .... and see if i missed the mark ...

good luck

ken

Left alone the conifer may grow down over the dead zones and empty spaces from above, over time.

I like the juniper! It would be hogging a lot of space at that age if it weren't poodled. I would clean out the underside of the top layer though, thin it further to see branch structure rather than underwear.

Karin

The dead zone is holding up the live growth above it, which would probably then flop if the dead zone were removed entirely. This might or might not be a problem. Ground-cover types are sold perched on bare stems, to form small weeping trees.

one thought i had ... if the magnolia.. of which we are still looking for close ups ....

is that it MIGHT have been a very happy plant.. when everything was small ...

but over the decades ... the surrounding trees have made it go from full sun.. to too much shade..

prior to butchering of the juniper... it may have had the magnolia in full shade... which would be a reason for lack of flower ....

pure speculation

and i am still wondering why this thing is blooming a pink flower in october .... buds should be being set.. and perhaps a single weirdo flower blooming for god knows what reason ... but magnolia.. especially star mag.. are early spring white bloomers ...

ken

Almost all of my various Saucer Magnolia varieties throw a few flowers all summer and into the early autumn. Must just be something they do. At times, because there are just a handful at any one point in time, they can be enormous, I guess due to the full canopy of foliage feeding the buds.

Alright since we are bashing on my trees, here are some more pictures. Don't hold back. Let me know what you think. In the 6th picture, that little tree is a dogwood that was chopped down and that is a new shoot off the main trunk.

I like the landscaping myself, yes some of the shrubs are looking a little week and need to be replaced. There are a couple junipers that have been in a fight with a "bear" as Ken says. :)

Ken the star magnolia which was identified above is producing is fruit right now not flowers which I thought.

1)front drive way bed on right
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2)front drive way bed on left with a large cherry tree.
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3) walk to entry
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4)right of entrance to house
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5)left of entrance to house
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6)left side of house front bed. down in the big bed by the street are dogwoods, huge oak and a huge natches crape.
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you have a pretty nice scape there...

all our comments are simply critique .... worth nothing if you dont want to hear it ...

pic 4.. again.. a juniper ... my feeling aside regarding poodling.. it is blocking the windows .. and in my eye.. detracting from the value of the HOUSE!!! ... your investment is the house.. not the plants ... start by looking ONLY at the house.. then start moving your focus back.. thru the plants.. and begin.. by starting to 'see' which plants are a negative to the value OF THE HOUSE .. rather than the plant itself ...

i do NOT like the brown on the poodled plants.. and that is once or twice per year trimming job.. on a plant that will bring blood to your hands and arms .... or is a great checkbook garden project ...

its not the shape.. from my perspective.. but the cost of maintenance.. either in labor or money .... they are a high maintenance girlfriend .. if thats what you want.. so be it.. lol ... but sooner or later.. the wisdom of the whole situation may begin to escape you ... lol ...

again ... the is NOTHING WRONG with your scape.. other some plants are overly mature.. and you should think.. long term.. about how you will be moving those out ...

otherwise.. its your scape.. so do whatever makes you happy

ken

If you like the shearing all you have to do is continue it. The dead zones on the conifers are the result of cutting all the live growth off, at that level. They can only refurnish themselves by growing down over the dead zones from above them.

With any closely sheared specimens, conifers or otherwise if you are getting bare or mostly bare stubble you are cutting too closely. Everything has to be allowed to keep at least a short layer of new growth each time it is sheared. If you cut to the same point or nearly so year after year you end up with dead zones. Any stem sections old enough will drop all the older leaves, whether there is new growth beyond that point or not. All individual leaves have a life span which may be only few to several years, even on evergreen plants (with deciduous plants that span is less than one year).

The poodles in pic #1&2 look like Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Boulevard'. Even if they weren't sheared this way...they would do it naturally unless you live in the perfect climate for them. They are the kings of inner brown-out! I had one that turned itself into a giant bonsai until I finally passed it on to another home. :)

Very nice yard adn I agree...it is a matter of taste as to whether you keep shearing, discontinue or decease. :)

The black mulch looks too much like asphalt. Probably holds a lot of heat also.

Hollies would look better than the junipers.