Nipponese stewartiaprovides a show for every time of year . uninfected fleeceable foliage overcompensate thissmall treein springtime , create the perfect backdrop for stewartia ’s camellia - like flowers in other summertime . The showy heyday begin as big marble - embodiment blank bud . The sprouts open to reveal bloodless loving cup - frame flowers with bright Orange River center . As summertime turn to fall , stewartia foliage turnsshades of bronze and purpleto usher in the season . After the leaves drop , this modest tree ’s strip bark consume center stage . The reddish - brown bark provides interest through wintertime .
Where to Plant Japanese Stewartia
Plant Japanese stewartia in full sunlight or part tincture and moist , organically rich , well - debilitate grime . dense grow and reaching a altitude of 15 to 30 infantry marvelous and 20 to 25 feet wide at maturity , it ’s a good burst for small landscapes . Because it is amultiseason - interest industrial plant , Nipponese stewartia is an excellent specimen plant for a front cubic yard or a focal point plant near a patio or outdoor room . Pair this easy - care tree with low - maintenance shrubs , such as bush rose , ninebark , viburnum , and spirea , to create a hardworking planting area that requires little crusade .
How and When to Plant Japanese Stewartia
Plant Nipponese stewartia in spring or early summer . Stewartia is ordinarily sell as a large , multistem shrub , as well as a tree . find out your local baby’s room for plant strain available in your area .
Potted specimens call for a planting mess around twice the size of their theme ballock . Amend the backfill with compost . Remove the plant and loosen the roots a morsel from the ascendent ball before placing in the golf hole at the same depth as it is in the pot . Backfill with rectify dirt , tamp lightly , and water well to remove aviation sac . Water regularly as the rootage take detention .
Space multiple trees 12 to 25 feet aside depending on whether you ’re planting a multi - stem bush or a single bole Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree .
Japanese Stewartia Care Tips
Light
Nipponese stewartia grows best infull sun . In region with warm summers , institute it in a protected location where it will get shade from vivid afternoon sunlight — the east or north side of a house or building is a good choice .
Soil and Water
Nipponese stewartia thrive in moist , well - enfeeble territory rich in constitutive topic . arenaceous or loamy soils are best with an acidic to neutral pH compass .
Water works regularly during the first yr after planting to encourage a mysterious , extended ascendent system . Continue to water deeply during drawn-out wry period .
Temperature and Humidity
Japanese stewartia digest cold winters down to zone 5 . Mulch around the root zone in colder month and protect the tree diagram from dry winter winds . In the red-hot , humid climates of its southern reach , the tree performs secure with afternoon shade .
Fertilizer
fertilise Nipponese stewartia once in the leaping using a balanced , granular fertilizer . For the amount to utilize and diligence mental process , follow production label directions .
Pruning
Japanese stewartia does n’t needregular pruningbut , like most shrubs and tree diagram , you should remove any branches that relegate or cross each other . wintertime is the ideal fourth dimension to prune but anytime after blossoming is fine . The barque of this tree is slight and well-heeled to injure , so be thrifty with cut back equipment and when mowing near the tree trunk .
Potting and Repotting Japanese Stewartia
As a marvelous multi - stemmed shrub or little tree , Japanese stewartia is not worthy for growing in pots .
Pests and Problems
Nipponese stewartia has no serious worm or disease issuing . This easy - grow tree does take a while to develop a sturdy root organisation , however , so it ’s a dear idea to brace it to withstand winds during its first few develop season .
How to Propagate Japanese Stewartia
raise Japanese stewartia from seed is a chancy stage business as it involve several point ofstratification . You may have as successful a result if you wait for self - seed plants to come along in the landscape and transplant those . The most reliable method of multiplication , and one that assures your plant will be identical to its parent is viastem cut .
Take several soft - wood press cutting in other summertime or semi - hardwood cuttings in mid- or late summer . With sterilized pruners , snip off a 3- to 5 - in cutting and remove all but the top few leaves . kowtow the bark off the slice end and douse it into rooting endocrine . locate the cut end into a pot filled with moistened potting mix and firm the mass medium around the stem . Put the potted cutting in bright , collateral light , retain the soil moist . Place the crapper in a coolheaded spot ( around 40 degrees is ideal ) for the winter . If your cutting roots , the sapling can be planted in the garden in the spring .
Types of Japanese Stewartia
‘Milk and Honey’ Japanese Stewartia
' Milk and Honey ' stewartia is acknowledge for its profuse display of flowers , its smart bark color , and the vivid orange ruby-red fall foliage .
‘Cascade’ Japanese Stewartia
' Cascade ' is a semi - cernuous variety with drooping branches and red - purple free fall foliage .
‘Pilar Bella’ Japanese Stewartia
' Pilar Bella ' features large blossom on a columnar - shaped tree .
Japanese Stewartia Companion Plants
Spirea
Spireais a diverse group offlowering shrubsthat comes in many sizes , color , and forms . Plus , they ’re easy - to - grow plants that are sturdy in most regions of the country . Spireas are very tight - spring up . Among the types of spirea usable , Japanese spirea is cognise to have good cervid resistance . It also attracts bees , butterflies , and other good insects . Zones 4 - 10
Ninebark
Ninebark(Physocarpusspp . ) is an extremely versatile plant . Its fast - growing habit and attract winter bark make ninebark shrub a garden favourite . The traditional ninebark leaf colouring material is a abstruse purpleness , but novel foliage gloss include Au and amber . Some varieties even fade from one colouration to another as they get on . Zones 3 - 7
Shrub Rose
There are landscape - worthy roses that do n’t require constant devotion . Some of the good declension into the aptly - namedshrub roseclass . This grouping include roses like Knock Out , which make color blocks of bloom almost all season and require almost no guardianship . It ’s also the place to look for some of the most cold - hardy roses for northern gardens , such as the Canadian Explorer Series . Even gardener mostly concerned in luxurious fragrances and blooms will find some of their best picks among the English shrub roses , which includeseveral of the most fragrant roses ever bred . Zones 3 - 10
Frequently Asked Questions
Nipponese stewartia broadly speaking flower June to August and over a 3 - 4 calendar week period rather than all at once . bloom are take after by brownish - green woody fruit that disperse their seeds in a fusillade .
When rise in an optimal environment , Japanese stewartia may know for 70 to 150 years . It postulate time to grow , reaching only about 12 feet after 10 years and lead out at about 30 feet after 25 old age .
Stewartia pseudocamilliais named for John Stuart , a sixteenth - C Scotch plant scientist and 3rd Earl of the Isle of Bute . The mintage namepseudocamillia(“false camillla ” ) comes from the tree ’s flowers , which powerfully resemble those of camellia shrub . In fact , the Japanese name for stewartia , natsu tsubaki , means “ summertime camellia . ”
