Magnolia Susan

Question

We were given a magnolia Susan as a gift in a small pot. It was growing indoors to keep it out of the cold weather but when the weather improved we moved it outside and also repotted in a larger pot with ericaceous compost. In just over a week the leaves started to lose their colour and go almost transparent, a week later those that had then dried out and are falling off.
I’ve tried not to over water it and the root ball was planted following advice. I can’t find anything on the internet that sounds like this so just wondered if anyone knew what the problem might be.

Answer 1

This looks like sun damage or sun scald to me. When a plant moves from indoors, or even a greenhouse; it’s best to harden off the plant. This means moving the plant to the outdoors and letting them adjust to the outdoor sunlight conditions slowly, over a period of a few days to a week.
Shade the shrub from the hottest part of the day until it is established.
This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It requires an evenly moist well-drained soil for optimal growth, but will die in standing water. It is not particular as to soil type, but has a definite preference for acidic soils. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates.