 Re: Magnolia
Your "bushes" appear to be hollies - unsure of the cultivar.
If you prune them in a slightly trapezoidal shape (wider at the bottom than the top), they should do fine. Best maintenance practices suggest taking no more than 1/3 of the plant off at any one pruning - so reduce the height by about one third and taper the top. Side dress or mulch using a finished compost instead of "bark mulch" (pine straw will work too if you have plenty.)
By leaving the plant wider at the bottom than the top, light makes it to the lowest limbs and keeps the plant full all the way to the ground.
Cutting them right now will loose this year's blossoms, but hollies are not real showy anyway.
Excessive wet years can lead to more fungal disease problems of both the root systems and fungal leaf diseases. The magnolia and the holly should be relatively "disease free" for you.
Insects are present on all plants. It's not until the insects' damage reaches a critical threshold that you need to think about treating them. Most insects have natural predators whose populations will build up 10 to 14 days later and keep them in check. By spraying less, and letting Nature take its course, we're all better off. |