An educational awards program of the Elisabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden

Stewartia pseudocamellia

Japanese stewartia

Image © Great Plant Picks
Image © Mary Randlett
Image © Lynne Thompso/Great Plant Picks
Image © Lynne Thompso/Great Plant Picks

Printer-friendly Fact Sheet

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Outstanding Qualities One of the most beautiful small trees for the landscape, Japanese stewartia has delightful, saucer-shaped, white flowers that sparkle on the branches in midsummer. Its dark green leaves become a riot of saturated oranges and flaming brilliant reds in the autumn. As the tree matures, a beautiful patchwork of pink, red-brown and gray develop on the bark along its trunk and branches. No serious insect or disease problems bother this tree. Its striking branching pattern and decorative bark stand out best against an evergreen backdrop. This is a great tree for small spaces!
Culture This stewartia grows best in partial shade. It will tolerate full sun if kept out of hot spots (for example, against a reflective wall) and watered attentively. It thrives in humus-rich, well-drained soil.
Growing Habit Typically a single-stemmed tree with a delicate layered branching habit, Stewartia pseudocamellia grows to about 12 feet high and 6 feet wide in ten years, maturing at 20 to 25 feet high and 12 feet wide.
Hardiness USDA zones 5 to 8
© 2009 Elisabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden
Funded by the Pendleton and Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation
Administered by the Elisabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden