Sick Magnolia Tree

[Bob32014]

Hi, I've got a Magnolia tree that's about 35 years old and never grew higher than 20 feet (which was fine with me).
It has always been healthy until this year.
Now it has fewer leaves and the leaves that did come out, are either brown or have brown edges.
Is it just dying from old age or is it sick?
We had a lot of rain in Southern California this last winter so the soil is very wet. Maybe that's the problem?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Bob

 

[Tetters]

Welcome Bob I'm afraid there are a lot of problems that you could have with this tree, from Insects to fungus and disease, and excessive rain could have contributed to this. It is pretty well impossible for us to guess what the cause of your trees' problems are, although if you could post a bit more detail with photos, we might be able to work it out.
It's not going to be old age though, as these trees can live well over 100 years !!

 

[Meadowlark]

Love Magnolia trees. From your description, it made me think of some kind of soil contamination/poisoning, e.g. herbicide.

Something like "weed and feed" can do that and it can be transported by water.

That would be a crying shame if so, but welcome to the community.