Storm damaged Magnolia virginiana

Hello!

Recently, we suffered a heavy wet snow which resulted in several limbs of our Magnolia virginiana being broken. I have pruned out the broken limbs. The snow is now gone yet one limb remains bent to the ground as a result of the storm. A friend suggested that the limb would straighten up when the sap begins running in the spring. After closer inspection, it appears that the "limb" is possibly a water shoot. My confusion stems from the fact that I have read that Magnolia grandiflora have water shoots, while Magnolia virginiana do NOT have water shoots and are, instead, multi trunked. Should I treat this as a water shoot and trim it out, along with the other numerous slender shoots beside the main trunk, or leave it as a part of the tree's multi trunking?

[Ron B]

If a multistem specimen is acceptable then leave it. The only reasons to prune to one stem are if you want a tree shape (single trunk) or if a named cultivar is grafted and the rootstock is sending up its own trunks.

[K Baron]

I prefer a single trunk with branching at least 45 cm above the soil level, the plant will naturally fill in those spaces, and pruning is minimized...however, the look is truly subjective, if you can wait a few more weeks, let's see what the warmer days ahead will bring for your Magnolia...what is your climate zone?and has it reached mauturity?