Black edged magnolia leaves

[elnorbone]

What causes black edges to form on Brackens Brown Beauty magnolia leaves which then turn yellow and drop?

[Newt]

Hi Elmorbone, Take a look here. You can see some leaves with brown edges, some have a yellow cast and there is considerable leaf litter. From 'Other Information about Magnolia grandiflora:' at the below referenced site. http://www.discoverlife.org/nh/tx/Plantae/Dicotyledoneae/Mag noliaceae/Magnolia/grandiflora/ "Magnolia grandiflora is evergreen so it drops foilage throughout the year, leaving piles of leathery leaf littler underneath its branches, stunting the growth of other plants and trees (see picture). This leaf litter deters some from using this tree in landscaping (Odenwald and Turner, 1996)." From this site, note the picture of the browning leaf: http://wp.nres.uiuc.edu/plant/maggr80 "Portions of leaves most directly oriented to the sun develop the most browning as a result of winter injury. This browning will then be followed by a spring leaf drop that precedes the new growth emerges in spring." Hope this helps, Newt