Japanese magnolias are looking frumpy

The foliage on my Japanese magnolias is not looking good. There are yellow and brown leaves, and some have a white mold on them. What is this and how can it be treated? Nancy

It is common for the foliage of Japanese magnolias to look less attractive in late summer. You will likely see some leaves turning yellow or brown, scorched leaf edges (mostly due to heat stress), various fungal leaf spots and white fungus growing on the leaves (this powdery mildew likely is what you are seeing). As a group, Japanese magnolias commonly do not look their best in the late summer. This is more common in younger trees planted in the past few years, and it often improves as trees get older and become better established.

Treating these late summer issues does not provide a lot of benefit. Japanese magnoli