Tall Stewartia, Orangebark Stewartia
 

Mature Size, Growth, Longevity

Landscape size is 20-40' after 30-40 years, but can eventually grow to 75-80' in the wild. Habit is pyramidal to rounded. Somewhat shrubby when younger. Trees become more open & horizontally branched w/ age. Slow growth rate. This tree usually lives several hundred years.

Native Range

Native to Japan. Cultivated since 1903.

Flower and Fruit Details

June-July lowers are 1-1.5", white, w/ yellow stamens. Large, leafy bracts are present beneath each flower. Flowers are cupped and do not fully open like those do of the Japanese Stewartia. Flowers open slowly over a 4-week period. The fruits are 1/2", woody, beaked, pubescnet capsules, 5-valved, brown in color, not showy.

Leaf and Bark Features

Deciduous: The dark green leaves are alternate, simple, ovate and serrated around the margin. Fall color, depending on the weather, often changes to shades of deep red to maroon, but not every year, lasting until temperatures get down to 20-25 degrees F, often around Dec. 1st. Notable Bark: Young bark is rich brown & scaly. Older trunks become rich cinnamon-brown to orange-brown and smooth.

Culture and Care

Excellent heat tolerance. Best in partial shade, especially during the heat of the mid-afternoon, but will take full sun. Mulch. Zone 6(5)-8. Somewhat difficult to transplant. Not drought-tolerant. Best to move as a small plant (under 6' tall) in early spring. It needs moist, well-drained, acid soil, pH 4.5-6.5), abundantly supplemented with organic matter such as compost or peat moss. No serious pests or diseases.

Strengths, Weaknesses, Other Facts

4-season interest: Spring, summer, fall & winter. Giant, remarkable, ancient specimens of this tree at Trewithen, in Cornwall, England, with massive trunks almost parallel to the ground.

Suggested Uses

Makes an excellent shade tree or specimen plant

Taxa and Plants of this Species at BCA