I LIKE PLANTS THAT EARN THEIR KEEP. By that I mean they do more than a week or two of showing off; they look good in more than a single moment, or season. The small-ish to medium trees in the genus Stewartia are a good bet if that’s the kind of multi-season interest you are looking for. Sound good?
The Latin specific epithet, or species name, of the Stewartia I grow is pseudocamellia, which roughly means it disguises itself as a camellia when in bloom (a nod to the look of its lovely and plentiful white June-into-July flowers, and the fact they are very distant relatives in the Tea Family).
But this Stewartia, from Japan, which gets to maybe 25 feet or so in a Northeast garden setting and is happy in part shade or sun, isn’t content to offer up just nice flowers for the privilege of living with you. It gives you peeling, lovely bark all season long (below), and hot fall color, too, as the leaves eventually change. I should warn that it grows slowly, so this is an investment piece, not instant success.
I like my stewartias to be multi-stem and breaking low from the base, instead of single-trunk, but such aesthetic considerations are up to you. A bigger cousin is S. monadelpha, also from Japan; S. koreana (from where it sounds like it’s from) is another showy choice. What I insist is that you at least agree to look at Stewartia next time you’re in a good woody plant nursery and think of this: What other garden-scale tree gives summer flowers (preceded by showy marble-size buds, bottom photo, by the way, in my pseudocamellia); hot fall foliage, plus winter interest in the form of textural bark and lovely structure?
Guess after reading this you already know the answer to today’s quiz, huh?
Related posts:
- 5 small trees: can you make room for 1? IS THERE ROOM FOR ANOTHER TREE in your landscape, if...
- more tree trouble: crabapple woes I KNOW MY CRABAPPLES WELL ENOUGH to know that 2...
- fruit-tree pruning: a future investment TODAY DWARF AND SEMI-DWARF varieties of apples and other fruit...
- great shrub: physocarpus opulifolius I T’S THE ONE EVERYONE ASKS ABOUT whenever I have...
- a plant I’d order: spiraea thunbergii ‘ogon’ ONLY ONE DECIDUOUS SHRUB HERE STILL HAS ALL ITS LEAVES,...
Enjoy this feature? Don't miss anything at A Way to Garden. Sign up for Margaret's new email newsletter, and subscribe to our RSS feed.
I WAS SO BLESSED TO visit and document many of the nation’s finest homemade gardens for 15 years for ‘Martha Stewart Living,’ first as garden editor and then as editorial director. The places we were proud to publish included my own upstate New York home. Take a tour of 
{ 96 comments… read them below or add one }
← Previous Comments
Probably just stress; Stewartias will sulk if unhappy. Transplanted things often just freak out and defoliate, to minimize further stress. It’s like they just curl up and hibernate early, after the impact of being uprooted, rather than limp along the rest of the season. In the future don’t feed shrubs and trees at transplant time, especially with chemical fertilizer that is quickly absorbed. Did it by any chance go in an open vehicle (like a pickup) from the nursery to your house, where it was windswept on the way to its new home? That’s another reason plants lose their foliage early: stress from being transported without proper protection from wind. Don’t panic…and don’t feed! Let it go the rest of the way dormant and in the spring just water when dry. Again, no food then, either, until it is really settled in perhaps the following year.
THANKS!!!! The people at my local nurseries are totally “clueless” when it comes to stewartia’s
My stewardia is growing (over 6 feet now), turning beautiful shades of orange and purple, but it didn’t bloom this summer as it did the first summer I planted it.
I sprinkle the area where it is planted with deep watering twice a week….It gets morning and afternoon sun.
Help!
Thanks so much for any suggestions.
I just placed some holly tone around my little tree, it has lost its last leaves, and my local arborist suggested putting some acid in the soil now before the first freeze, in order to have the soil acidic when the spring comes.
We’ll see.
As Patrick says, “We’ll see,” which makes a good motto for gardeners, I think. All I can speak from is experience, and I have done nothing for my Stewartia except give it time to get over the transplant insult. That took a year or two, but it is very happy these days, and I have never amended the soil. I’d mulch it, too, Patrick–but not up right against the trunk, or too deep.
Ok thanks for the solid thinking. I am right there, i have my mulch lain, and we are ready for the winter.
And the spring and summer.
Speaking of, I am sure come July I will want to post picture of our tree – is that doable on a site like this?
@Patrick: You can upload photos on the Forums here, http://awaytogarden.com/forum
Looking forward to it.
Hello, I have been searching since last spring for a nursery in the Chicago area that carries Stewartia, specifically korean, with no luck. If anyone knows where i can track one down I appreciate the help. Thanks
Brian, welcome. Here’s a thought: Though they do not sell them in their Klehm’s/Song Sparrow Farm mail-order catalog, the Klehm family has been in the nursery business on many levels for generations in the Chicago area and beyond. Try calling them to see if they grow them in any of their wholesale divisions or can recommend a producer, 800-553-3735. Did you also try the Chicago Botanic Garden’s recommended plant list at http://www.bestplants.org/ or CBG’s Plant Information Service? http://www.chicagobotanic.org/plantinfoservice/ Hope one of these helps.
Thank you so much for the information. I will check that out. Hopefully I can find one.
March 23 2009
Stewartia lovers check out GOSSLERS in Oregon. I got a magnificent one last fall for $22 and it is over 7′ tall and looks just fine and happy in north GA.All of their shrubs are super quality. You won’t be disappointed.
Welcome, Jean. Yes, Gossler’s is in my source list on every page of the blog. Thanks for the reminder. See you soon again.
I have a Stewartia sinensis. According to Dirr it will have bark like “alabaster”. I’m looking forward to that. I work at a botanical garden, and we have some magnificant mature stewartias. Eventually they get too big to really appreciate the small flowers, but the bark and fall color are reason enough to grow them.
D
My Stewartia has made it through the winter and has a full complement of waxy green leaves. I wonder if it will flower this summer. Here’s hoping.
The yard is coming together. I planted a climbing hydrangea aside an old, high limbed oak and it is taking off. I am very excited for the Stewartia (I have aliums aside it and myrtle below cascading down rocks) to come out!
I am learning so much about my Stewartia from this blog! I live in Connecticut and inherited a Japanese pseudocamellia from previous homeowner It grows at the edge of my patio and is a towering 40-plus feet tall! It is a beauty and has given us many years of spectacular flowers and shade. We’ve had some funny moments when flowers have fallen on us as we sat to eat/relax on the patio.
Welcome, Luanne. Glad to help, and to meet another Stewartia lover. Great trees. Hope to see you soon again. Love the fallen-flower moment. :)
I planted a perfectly shaped Stewartia last July beside the house and garage as I was told they want a protected spot. It bloomed and then we had a hot spell and most of the leaves turned brown. It is leafing out now, but some of the branches are dying back. The I have trimmed the central leader due to dieback and hope this tree survives. It is on the East side so it gets morning sun and shade in the pm. I’m hoping it will do better this year.
Welcome, Evanne. Sounds like it got off to a rough start, yes. Transplanting can be terribly stressful. You will have to watch it, keep it watered (don’t feed), wait. Prune as you say with obvious dead stuff. Crossing fingers!
Woo Hoo! My newly purchased stewartia pseudocamellia just arrived via ups yesterday afternoon… should be planting not posting right now :-) Jean here had mentioned Gossler Farms …$22 plus shipping and it’s a beautiful, almost 5′ multistemmed sapling! It’ll be a few years before I see blooms I’m sure, but well worth the wait I think.
Can anyone tell me why my stewartia tree has beautiful healthy buds that rarely open fully? The tree seems otherwise happy. Last year the buds did the same thing but I attributed the problem to the transplanting process. It came to us balled and burlapped. Thanks!
Welcome, Terry. Tell me something about this season’s weather there so far; any extremes? I have had many kinds of trees completely fail to flower the year after planting (or flower hardly at all) since they are in the business of putting down roots for at least the year after. I think you are still in trannsplant-recovery mode, but interested to hear about any weather aberrations?
We’ve had some cool, damp, nights lately and a few 90 degree days with high humidity. The root ball intrigues me because it is red clay. I thought this tree needed a moist environment. I only water the base, and the tree is next to the spigot so I remember to water it regularly. tree is thriving top to bottom except for these buds that change their minds. For every flower that opens fully, there are ten developed buds that stop just beyond the point of pushing out petals. Thanks!
Help! I now read this blog and realize I have probably killed my newly transplanted Stewartia tree. We transplanted it from the nursery and I know it has been out of the ground for at least a month or more. The nursery said it wouldn’t hurt to put some hollytone in the hole when transplanting and it is in full sun. It is about6- 7 feet tall. You guessed it! I either wasn’t watering it enough or it was the Hollytone but now all the top and outer leaves are all dried up and falling off. The inside branches are green. Did I kill this tree most likely? I would be sick if I did because it is beautifully shaped. Please give me feedback on what to do next or what not to do. Thanks.
Welcome, Deb. You say “it has been out of the ground for at least a month,” but it’s planted now, yes? Any tree (and especially one that is a little sensitive to transplant, like a Stewartia) will sulk at such treatment. Hollytone is pretty slow-acting (high in organic materials, not a pure chemical formula) so it doesn’t burn, typically. I think you just stressed it if it was out of the ground for a month and perhaps also didn’t get enough water consistently.
When plants are stressed, they will drop leaves…or leaves will brown at the edges in some cases…so do nothing but water thoroughly when needed and wait. You will not know the outcome until next spring I think. It is critical to water far into the fall, until the leaves all drop and the tree is really dormant, so it’s well-hyrdrated before winter and can withstand whatever additionalstress that season involves in your climate.
Margaret, thanks so much for the information. It is in the ground now but at the nursery it was balled for at least a month. I am aggressively watering this trying to balance between too much and too little. As I look at this daily, the inside of the tree, the leaves are green with a little brown at the tips, the top is pretty much de-leafed but the bottom half of the tree still has pretty many leaves. To make matters worse, this tree is south facing so I do truly believe I failed to water it enough (and also not knowing how sensitive it was). Thanks again for your feedback. Deb
I just plant my stewartia 2-3 months ago. My family was on vacation for about 10 days last months. Unfortunately, there was no rain during my vacation. When I came back from vacation, my stewartia was not very happy and some leaves were dry out. I triy to water it everyday since and hope it would be better, but the efforts did not work. Now all the leaves become brown. I just wonder if I should keep watering. Is it dying or it may become better next year? Thanks for any suggestions. Jen
Welcome, Jen. Hopefully this stress came late enough that the tree is just going into early leaf-drop in response. Keep watering when needed right through frost, but don’t do anything else. In early spring, amke sure it doesn’t get dry when awakening, and all through next year keep a close eye. Hopefully it will be fine, but no way to tell right now. No fertilizer or anything, OK?
I bougth a Stewartia tree a couple of years ago and it has done fine–now up to 7-8 feet–but I have realized its in the wrong place as a river birch has spread more than I thought and is approaching the stewartia. I want to move the tree but don’t know if its too big to move myself, (how big a root ball do I need?) and when should I try this ?
Welcome, Tom. They are not fond of disturbances, so you will want a big rootball…which will be heavy. I would do it in the very early spring, aka late winter, when the ground isn’t too mucky but before leaves are on the tree if you can. I think you will need help, perhaps professional.
Our stewartia has been in the ground for two summers
and this year we got only about five flowers. It has lots of good looking leaves and shows no signs of stress. Any in sights?
Thank you, Annette
Welcome, Annette. Yes, mine sulked for quite some time after transplanting, and only after a few years really settled in and became a major performer. As long as the tree looks healthy, I think you will be fine, though patience is an asset with a relatively new Stewartia. See you soon again, I hope.
Why are the leaves on my Japanese Stewartia turning brown at the edges?
Welcome, Vedakay. They will do that if the soil gets dry, especially late in the season, when they are going to get ready to color up or just drop. Probably not to worry, but be sure to water right up through the ground freezing (if that happens where you garden). Newly planted trees will also exhibit this stress sign often.
Am thinking of a Stewartia for the corner of our house.
I am wondering how close to the house it can be planted, and how much sun/shade it needs.
And will it do well in CT?
Welcome, Karen. In theory, they can grow 20 to 40 feet wide and tall, and even 60 feet tall in nature, but in the home landscape things often don’t get to their full sizes. Mine is probably less than 10 feet wide after 10 years here, starting from a decent-sized plant. I would not place it closer than 10 feet from a building. Hope to see you soon again.
Hello. I am getting ready to order a Stewertia from Gosslers. So excited to add this beauty to my new landscaping out back. My question is, which should be most considered-wind protection, or allowing afternoon shade? I am in Iowa, zone 5, so our summers are not too extreme. I can plant by the privacy fence, but it will get afternoon sun until the early evening (I’m guessing 11-5 in sun), but will be protected from the wind. (When it is windy, it is really windy out back) OR, I can plant out front, where it will receive full afternoon shade, BUT will have no protection from wind. Figured I should ask now, so I only plant it once to keep the stress down for it. :) Loved reading all your info offered, so helpful, thank you!
Welcome, Tisha. If your summers are really baking-hot and sunny, I’d opt for afternoon shade. Mine is in a windy northern spot on my property, no sheltered at all in winter but enjoying part shade in the hottest days of summer. I have seen them in even more shade in the New York area, also happy. I think the baking in summer would be a worse insult than the cold. See you soon, I hope.
I can’t say enough for stewartia pseudocamellia! A tree for four seasons: good branch structure in winter and spring, wonderful mottled splotchy bark, lovely camellia-like (of course) white flowers in July which keep coming and float gently to the ground forming a white carpet, and glorious flame yellow to orange-red in fall. I’ve planted five and they give more pleasure each year.
Welcome, Mary-Jane, dedicated fan of Stewartia. All of what you say is true. Glad to “meet” you here and hope that we see you again soon.
I’m considering buying and planting a Japanese Stewartia tree. I see that you say that you like having a clump of the tree. How do you go about planting a clump?
Do you need two or three young trees and plant them together? I just would like an idea of how to plant them.
I’ve always admired the clumped birch also.
Thank you
Welcome, Bonnie. I like Stewartia (and also Kousa dogwoods, among other things) that naturally “break” low to the ground, meaning branches form low on the trunk. I don’t mean several trees planted together, no, but rather selecting a plant that doesn’t have just one main trunk that grew up quite high before any side branches developed. The photo on this post shows the structure of my young-ish Stewartia only 2 or 3 feet above ground-level — it’s almost like it had several trunks naturally, instead of a stick with a lollypop-shaped head on it like a maple tree or other big shade tree might be, where you could someday walk beneath them. When young, the Stewartias I prefer look somewhat shrubby. Hope that helps; wish I had good line drawings to share.
Jan.19,2010 10:00AM
Margaret, I just placed an order for a Japanse Stewartia from Gourney’s. Their add said they ship bare root. Since I live in zone 6 I requested the tree be shipped in March. I was wondering if there is anything special I need to do before planting it when it arrives?
Mary Ann
Welcome, Mary Ann. I have never tried a Stewartia from bare root–I don’t see that detail on their website about their Stewartias (and have never bought anything from them).
Bare root seems like a challenge, though, and I guess how I’d handle it depends on how small it is when it arrives; I might grow it in a nursery pot under a watchful eye in a semi-shady spot for a whole season or more to make sure it really gets TLC and never dries out. However you receive it, I would not do so in March unless you mean the very last day and even that can be mucky, wet soil that’s not hospitable to planting. Maybe mid-April or so? (Not sure how far into Zone 6 you are.)
Any chance you can get one at a local nursery instead, or at least potted?
Jan.19, 2010 10:00am
Thanks for the advice Margaret. I will let you know what kind of luck I will have planting a bare root srewartia when it arrives. None of the nurseries in my area have any. I live in Shelbyville Ky. By the way, Gourneys came highly praised for their plants and guaranteed replacement on all their stock. All they require is to send back the shipping label and circle the name of the plant that didn’t make it.
Your blog readers may be interested in a in-depth review of the genus, an article I co-authored last June. The URL is below, and if you scroll down the screen, there is a link that opens the PDF file of the article.
http://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/RHS-Publications/Journals/The-Plantsman/2008-issues/June
Welcome, Eric, and what a treat; photos of all the species and their characteristics. Beautiful; what a help. Now I just need to make more room in the garden here. :) Thanks for your visit, and your contributions.
← Previous Comments