Planting a Stewartia Tree

May 20, 2024

The stewartia tree is an excellent, small to medium-sized, deciduous garden tree. It is also one of my favorites.

The Japanese stewartia, Stewartia pseudocamellia, is native to Japan, Korea, and the southeastern United States. It is a slow-growing, all-season performer that show off green leaves in spring, white flowers in summer, and colorful foliage in autumn. It also has attractive exfoliating bark, which peels away in strips of gray, reddish-brown, and orange. Recently, my outdoor grounds crew planted an 18-foot stewartia tree gifted to me by our friends at Select Horticulture Inc. in nearby Pound Ridge, New York because its root ball was misshapen and as a result had grown crooked, making it difficult to sell. But it looks great here at my farm across from my winding pergola and just next to, of course, my stewartia garden.

Here are some photos.

: Here it is arriving at the farm. I was so exited to get a call from Scott Richard, co-owner of Select Horticulture, asking me if I wanted this Stewartia tree. I said yes right away. I love stewartias – after all, my name is “Stewart.”

: After driving around looking for the perfect spot, I decided to plant it just down the carriage road from my flower cutting garden where I can see it every time I leave or return home. Here, the sod is being removed from the area. This is done with our Classen Pro HSC18 sod cutter. This sod cutter is so easy to maneuver and so sharp.

: And then our trusted Kubota M62 tractor and backhoe are used to remove the soil.

: The sides are dug manually so they are sightly slanted.

: Here is the root ball of the tree. One can see how the trunk was growing out of it. The root ball itself is also malformed.

: Always remove any tags that are on a tree. If left too long, these tags will eventually cut into the bark and potentially cut off the flow of nutrients.

: The hole is dug deep. For any tree, the rule of thumb for planting is to create a hole that is two to three times wider than the root ball, but only as deep as the root ball.

: Our Hi-Lo is then brought over to support the tree while the crew gently guides it into an upright position.

: The tree is held in place with the wide straps until it is ready to put into the hole.

: The crew cuts the bottom of the wire cage leaving the top of it intact.

: Wire baskets were designed to support the root ball during loading, shipping, and transplanting.

: The straps are attached to the wire cage for lifting. And then slowly, the tree is moved into the hole.

: The crew rotates the tree so its best side faces the road and checks that it is straight. When moving heavy trees, only hold it by the base of the trunk or the root ball – never by its branches, which could easily break.

: Once the tree is in, the remainder of the cage was cut and the entire piece removed along with the burlap. Some cut the cages and leave them in the ground, but I prefer to remove them completely, so there is nothing blocking the growing roots.

: It is very important to feed the plants and trees. A generous amount of fertilizer specially formulated for transplanted specimens is sprinkled around the tree and the surrounding soil.

: The hole is backfilled and tamped down thoroughly to remove any air pockets and to settle the soil. And remember, don’t plant it too deeply – leave it “bare to the flare.”