Charlotte I would try pruning back the tree. It might just need to be "refurbished". Try cutting out some of the older dead looking branches and see what happens. If the tree appears to be dead already, it shouldn't hurt to try this. It may help a bit.
I don't relly know much about pruning, but you might try posting the same question over at The Tree Forum someone there may be able to better help you.

I too have a Magnolia tree for about 10 years now. But this year (and last year) it had only 1 or 2 flowers on it. I know in my case is due to late frost killing the buds. This is a "late frost sensitive" tree. The buds start swelling and shedding their outter shells as soon as the weather starts warming up in April, then WHAM we get hit with a heavy frost after that warm spell. That does in all the buds on my tree. It will leaf out and has a nice shape for the remainder of the year, I'm back to "hoping "next year will be better" to see the flowers on this tree. I think we're on the borderline range for growing them.

Would amending the soil around it help? Might make it stronger (healthy soil = healthy plant).

The way I deal with my 'disappointments' is I dig a little trench at the drip line and fill it with good healthy compost. I also add mulch mixed with compost from the drip line to about one foot from the trunk - but not too much compost in this area.
Every spring I refurbish the goodies to the schrub or tree, and at times I do it in the fall as well.
I have a Purple Smoke Bush (Cotinus) which was struggling, but now is doing very well with this treatment.

I realize that the problem is probably due to the frost getting the buds, but if you don't want to give up, this could be a solution to strenghtening the health of the tree and reviving it altogether.

I love Magnolias! One day I'll have one!

I hope you don't have "MAGNOLIA SCALE" this will apparently kill a magnolia in a short time. It is about the size of a fingernail. The treatment is "Dormant Oil" or "Summer Oil" check with a nursery they will know the name,and probably stock it. Good Luck. Rai

Just a thought from a novice gardener, grow one in the shade. The buds will swell later and hopefully not be damaged by frost. I know that japanese maples are suggested to be planted on the north side of houses for a similar reason.

Still no leaves on my magnolia, so who knows what is going on right now. If it is more or less dead, we will trim it back and see what happens. In the meantime, I do have a Niobe clematis growing up its base so perhaps I should get a taller clematis to grow up and cover all that dead stuff! The trouble is that this tree is in a portion of the garden that is very noticeable and to loose it leaves a big hole in that area that does not look good. Right now it is a wait and see proposition.

Anyone trying Magnolia macrophylla (Big Leaf Magnolia) out east? These have big 3 foot leaves and produce blooms the size of dinner plates (12").

Cheers, Barrie (Vancouver Island)

If Magnolia is growing surrounded by grass it might be getting too much nitrogen and also competition from other plants fighting for nutrients. The suggestion made of putting compost around dripline is very good and it should be tried. The buds might have been damaged by late frost, however, if the tree has not performed well for several years it suggests a deficiency. I would not destroy the tree, some branches might be dead but it does not mean the whole tree is dead. Do not overfeed, use compost, remove anything growing under the tree, scratch the soil surface so moisture penetrates more easily.

Charlotte - did your magnolia ever leaf out? (Late frost did in my blooms this year - only had 3 blooms but I did what you did and I have flowers on it now, but they aren't magnolia flowers, they're from a huge Nelly Moser clematis I transplanted to grow up the base)

Sorry to here about the problems with your magnolia. Our favorite flowering tree. I hope one of the suggestions on this forum will help restore it.

Some saucer magnolias are more susceptible to frost. We have to have a perfect spring to get flowers on 'Rustica Rubra' whereas 'Alexandrina' gets lots of flowers even if we get several spring chills.

{{gwi:529077}}
Magnolia soulangeana 'Alexandrina' bud

Cheers,
MG

I am interested to see how this thread continues. I have a Magnolia in the corner of the yard, where it has been flourishing for years, even though it is kept "small" due to the size of the yard. This year it had a few flowers right away which fell off quickly. There have been essentially no more flowers and no major new growth since then. I do notice what kind of seems like a moss or fungus on the branches that is a kind of silvery green. Below it is dirt that I continue to pull nettles out of, a rock rose on one side and a couple of lilacs on the other side. I plan on trimming the tree way back in the Fall in hopes of helping it out for next year, but will that be enough?