Planting Young Stewartia Trees
Maintaining a healthy landscape sometimes means cutting down trees.
I love trees and always feel bad when trees are cut down. Trees are crucial to our environment - they provide breathable oxygen, they absorb carbon dioxide and potentially harmful gasses, and they help create an ecosystem of food for birds and other animals. However, occasionally trees need to be removed and replaced. The pear trees behind my gym building have been declining in recent years. We already removed several and last week my outdoor grounds crew removed another. I decided to replace them with a selection of Stewartia trees - I love Stewartias and already had more mature specimens growing nearby.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- This latest project includes planting several Stewartia trees in an area across from my long winding pergola and behind my gym building. These trees originally arrived as bare-root specimens a couple of years ago. Bare-root trees are so named because the plants are dug from the ground while dormant, and stored without any soil surrounding their roots. I like to nurture them in pots before planting.
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- The first step is to place the trees around the garden bed – at least 15-feet apart. Because we also have bulbs planted in various sections of this garden, it’s also important not to disrupt any of them. If any bulbs are found, they’re gently replanted.
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- After placing the trees around the space, Brian turns each one, so the best side faces the road.
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- Then, Brian begins to dig the holes. He digs all the holes first in case the positioning of any trees needs changing.
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- Always have a good quality tree fertilizer on hand to mix with the soil of the new specimen being planted.
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- Brian removes the tree from its pot. Remember, a tree or shrub may be a bit pot bound before transplanting, that means the roots have started to curve around the shape of the pot with no where to go. If left in this condition the roots will continue to wind around and around and never spread into the new soil, so it is important to always scarify the root ball.
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- Using his hori hori knife, Brian scarifies the roots of this specimen. Scarifying stimulates root growth. Essentially, he breaks up small portions of the root ball to loosen the roots a bit and create some beneficial injuries. This helps the plant become established more quickly in its new environment.
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- When planting a tree or shrub, measure the height of the root-ball to determine the approximate hole depth. Measure the diameter of the root ball to determine the width of the hole. The hole should be no deeper than the calculated depth. The rule of thumb is that the width of the hole should be a foot wider than the root-ball diameter.
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- Once the tree is properly positioned in the hole, Brian backfills. “Bare to the flare” is the general saying when planting trees – the top of the root flare should always be above ground.
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- Next, Brian gently steps around the root ball to ensure there aren’t any air pockets.
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- I always like young trees staked to protect them as they develop. Brian hammers a bamboo stake about a foot into the ground a few inches from the young tree trunk.
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- Bamboo comes in a variety of lengths and is easy to find at garden supply stores.
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- Brian also trims any dead or poorly growing branches.
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- Next, Brian ties garden twine in three places – this will ensure the tree is well supported and directed as it grows.
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- We use natural jute twine for many of our projects around the farm. Jute twine is a vegetable fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is 100-percent biodegradable and pollution-free.
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- The knots used should be very simple. I always teach every member of the crew to twist the twine before knotting, so the tree or vine or cane is not crushed or strangled. I like to tie the twine in a figure-eight formation. Each piece is tied just tight enough to keep the tree secure, but not break it.
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- The ties are placed at the top, the middle, and near the bottom to fully support the tree. Even if the wind blows, it will be secure. This was important to do right away in advance of Tropical Storm Henri.
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- These Stewartia trees are planted just behind the younger new ones and are a bit more mature. Stewartia is a species of flowering plant in the family Theaceae, native to Japan and Korea. All varieties are slow-growing, all-season performers that show off fresh bright green leaves in spring, white flowers resembling single camellias in summer, and colorful foliage in autumn. Some of the varieties in this area include: Stewartia gemmata, Stewartia x. henryae, Stewartia pseudocamellia ‘Ballet’, Stewartia monadelpha, Stewartia rostrata, and Stewartia henry ‘Skyrocket’.
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- The leaves of the Stewartia are alternate, simple, elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate, and five to nine centimeters long.
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- Stewartias produce woody ovoid capsules of seeds each of which has five seed chambers containing up to four seeds.
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- Do you know why I love Stewartia trees? Well, Stewart is my last name after all. However, there is no relation. “Stewartia” is named for Scottish nobleman and botanist, John Stuart, who had imported the plant to his personal London garden. He later served as British prime minister from 1762 to 1763. This is one of the Stewartia trees in the garden nearby. Soon, the new trees will fill out like this one, and next spring, they will bloom with gorgeous white flowers.
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