Lily magnolia (I think) - can I cut it back

[1984isnow]

I have one of these, according to an ID app its a lily magnolia. It’s getting huge but a brief google tells me it apparently doesn’t react well to pruning.

It’s at the front of my house so I don’t want to end up with a dead tree in front, but it’s as high as my top windows now and just looks out of control.

Can I cut it to half it’s height? Any tips on pruning, and it not looking terrible would be appreciated

It does look like a magnolia. I don’t think lily magnolia is a term used in the UK. A neighbour heavily pruned hers and it put up a forest of water shoots - long straight green shoots that take years to come back into flowering. You might be better getting rid, and replacing with something more appropriate to the space

If you have to prune a magnolia apparently it's best to do it as close to midsummer as possible and if you need to reduce it seriously then do so over several years, a bit at a time, to avoid upsetting the tree. I have a young one which came with three main trunkettes and I want it to end up more tree than shrub with one main trunk at the lower level, so I cut one of the trunkettes off this summer. It has done as mere says and put up lots of very straight up shoots, though mine has also put on a small second flowering on the new straight shoots. Don't know what that means, if anything.

Yes, that’s analogous to apple pruning, winter to encourage growth, summer to dissuade it

According to the RHS website, it is better to reduce it bit by bit over several years rather than all at once, which would encourage the long growth mentioned by a pp above.Renovation pruning involves considerably shortening about a third of branches the first year, another third in year two, and the final remaining old branches in the third year. That means there's not too much of a shock to it. It also means that it should continue to flower during the process, which is the whole point of having the plant in the first place...

Late summer/early autumn is the best time to do it apparently.

I genuinely read the title as a one of the girls' name posts. I was about to reply with too horticultural...

@sub453

I genuinely read the title as a one of the girls' name posts. I was about to reply with too horticultural...

Thanks all for the replies. It doesn’t seem to flower that much at the minute anyway. I have pruned it a couple of times in the past but only a little around the base/sides so maybe that’s why. It’s just too large now, looks like hulk broccoli on steroids.

I suppose flowering doesn’t matter much as I will likely need to remove it when we have a drive put in (it’s bang in the centre of the garden, directly in line with existing dropped kerb) but that won’t be for a good few years. I don’t want to take it out now and leave the front really bare. The patch it’s in is also covered in pebbles so not the easiest place to plant/weed around if I were to replace it.

A third at a time sounds like it could make a decent difference.

Thanks again!