We bought our Stewartia pseudocamellia tree in 2000 for $18.00 at a sale at Olbrich Botanical Garden here in Madison. We planted it in an out of the way spot so the fact that it's taken a number of years to reach the flowering stage never bothered us.
But now that it's achieved that milestone we usually miss the moment when it first starts to flower because of its location. We realize it's begun when we notice the spent blossoms on the ground (below). Most years all the flowers are above our heads so we miss much of the show.
But this year there were big fat buds on the lowest branches as well as those at eye level. Alas, the flowers are rather like daylilies with a brief — if beautiful — lifespan. Since they begin to turn brown and messy on the ground very quickly, I try to go out and pick up the spent flowers daily.
The other morning I decided to count how many blossoms were on the ground 24 hours after I'd cleaned up the last batch. Would you believe 65! If only we were situated on a slope where we could look down on the Stewartia instead of the tree growing on a slope above us. We planted it in the protected spot it wanted in order to thrive. We just didn't know how beautiful it would be in bloom and that it also needed to be in a spot where we could enjoy its efforts.
If you're looking for a small tree for an urban garden, consider a Stewartia. In addition to the lovely flowers, it has intense red-orange fall color and exfoliating bark. It's hardy to Zone 5.
