My mother has a young magnolia tree that is looking very sad and is losing leaves at a fast rate. She is in zone 8, has clay soil but amended the soil at planting time with Miracle Grow Garden Soil and later added Sphagnum Peat Moss (2cu ft.) She has from time to time watered with a mixture of Iron and Soil Acidifier from Green Light and uses Miracle Grow for fertilizer. The initial planting was done by a landscaper who screwed them royally and went bankrupt. He planted in rock without amendments so she went back and amended the soil later. Recently the leaves started turning yellow, then brown and falling off rapidly. It is, however, putting on new growth and trying to flower. Could be a burst of flowering prior to death trying to reproduce itself but I'm not sure. What could this be? How to correct? I am probably most afraid someone will say to check the soil ph because I never feel I get accurate results. I have a battery powered "InstantPh" measureing device but don't trust it's results. If I have to do this I will but don't want to. Other than ph, what might the problem be? If she is watering too much what would the trees' response be? If she is underwatering (doubt it) would this be the cause? Thanks in advance for any response.