Hot glue would work well for a wreath this time of year, or if you have a stryofoam form, or straw form, the U shaped floral pins would hold the leaves. We (garden club)used the pins for magnolia leaves. We left some wreaths green and painted some with metallic paint.

No advice on making a wreath, but as New Englander I want to tell you how envious I am of you folks in southern climes who can grow these trees! I planted a supposedly cold-hardy one a year ago but it continues to look like a Charlie Brown Christmas tree, and I'm not optimistic it will ever thrive. I absolutely adore magnolia roping and wreaths at the holiday. We visited a friend in Richmond, a master gardener, who turns up her nose at these trees because they're messy and drop things all year long, but I suspect if I lived there I'd probably put up with the annoyance just to have the glory of these trees!

I'm in St. Louis zone 5b and the tree thrives next to the house! They are messy trees but well loved for the shade and beautiful flowers. Our tree is almost 50 years old and twice the height of the house. No topping it now. I'll leave the trimming to the squirrels.

I've got a northern variety of magnolia. It took it almost 7 years before it took off and started flowering. For a good number of years it was a sad looking thing. In the past year or two it's exploded into a lovely fragrant tree BUT I still don't have the leaves like on the southern variety.

I'm in downtown Richmond on a small city lot & I planted a magnolia specifically for cutting (& to hide the neighbor's house). It doesn't get enough sun for many blooms, if any, but there's nothing comparable to the foliage.