We live in Schaumburg and had two Magnolia trees planted last year. We would like a "tree" type Magnolia rather than a "bush". When is the best time to trim a Magnolia and what should we be most concerned about?

Pruning on fleshy plants like magnolia is best done in early spring before growth resumes, yet late enough that chances of frosts or freezes are limited. If your magnolias are multiple stemmed to begin with, you can prune the side branches back to each stem. You will have a multiple stemmed tree, but "limbed up" showing off those stems. If they are a single stem now, prune the side branches back to the trunk. In both cases, revealing the trunks should occur over time as the trees grow in height. Typically removing a few branches a year or every other year.