NY’s Stewartia Thread

[Nybonsai12]

I have been half interested in getting a Stewartia for a few years. I’ve seen the pics of these wonderful specimens from Japan but rarely if ever saw them for sale in the US. Further inspired by Brian Van Fleets thread on his and wanting to get my hands on any Stewartia , I tried seeds two seasons ago with zero success.

Cedar rose nursery started a thread here on bnut and after some back and forth I had a tree on the way( pleasure dealing with them). It came bare root and I potted it up in this round drum I recently picked up from natures way nursery in PA. It’s damn cold here so I’ve been sure to protect from freezes and now await warmer temps to see it wake up. Hopefully it responds well to its new home.

I like the base and movement. Plan will be to let it settle in and grow all season, likely unchecked. Ultimately I expect I will need to shorten the top to a new leader and reduce the thick 1st and 2nd branches. Please chime in if you have any experience with these or thoughts on care/design. Spring can’t come soon enough!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Way to go B! They’re rewarding trees and becoming a favorite on my bench.

 

[Ruddigger]

Nice! Keep us updated, I bought a similar one from Cedar Rose as well.

 

[bwaynef]

I lost one to an unseasonably warm spring (98ºF by early-May ...extending about 5-6 weeks), so moving forward I'm a bit gun-shy on the amount of rootwork they can take. I treated them almost like a japanese maple and the tree slowly dropped branches until it was clearly gone in July. That could be a one-off, but I'm taking it slower with the dozen or so I have left. (The remaining ones are much less developed but grow like weeds for me.)

I tend to prune heavily for direction as well as taper on these. After letting yours recover, I'd suggest pruning those mains back and starting more compact branching.

 

[Shogun610]

Nice pick up .. tons of options looking forward to updates in the future

 

[SouthernMaple]

I forgot to buy Kanuma when I was at the soil depot, is it ok to pot in aoki mix or neat akadama? Its currently in Anderson flat for past 4 years with kanuma

 

[dbonsaiw]

I got so excited that this was a thread about Stewartias available in New York. Oh well, that's a sweet tree.

 

[PaulH]

Cedar Rose is great and fills a need for good field grown pre bonsai. Dylan has studied bonsai and is a great horticulturist. I also got a Stewartia, A Japanese Styrax, And a Taiwan Styrax from him. I'm lucky he is just a few miles from me. You have to act fast as his trees seem to sell as soon as he digs them!

 

[Nybonsai12]

I got so excited that this was a thread about Stewartias available in New York. Oh well, that's a sweet tree.

Reach out to Dylan if you are looking for one.

 

[Nybonsai12]

Cedar Rose is great and fills a need for good field grown pre bonsai. Dylan has studied bonsai and is a great horticulturist. I also got a Stewartia, A Japanese Styrax, And a Taiwan Styrax from him. I'm lucky he is just a few miles from me. You have to act fast as his trees seem to sell as soon as he digs them!

Agree!

 

[Nybonsai12]

Exploded with growth this season. Excited to see it after leaf drop this fall to make some branching choices. There is an air layer in there too that can’t be seen that I am
Hoping produces roots.

 

[Hartinez]

Looking awesome. The movement in yours is so good and not something you usually see in Stewartia!

 

[Nybonsai12]

Worked this one a bit recently as it gets ready to leaf out. Air layer up top on the right failed last season. Will give it another shot and if it doesn’t take will just remove it.

 

[ForrestW]

That is a great starter material-- you did well. Just a thought as you mentioned you were open to design suggestions... you may want to keep the thick second trunk (minus the part you air layer) and try and design it while keeping that and the other leader-- but treat both like trunks not a branch. I understand you could cut it off completely or short and grow it more like an informal upright bonsai, but sometimes it can be a fun design challenge to grow a more natural tree that does not fit into a standard style. (not trying to start a long conversation about styling choices-- just putting a thought out there). I look forward to seeing where it goes and appreciate you sharing on this thread.

 

[Jrmcmich]

Worked this one a bit recently as it gets ready to leaf out. Air layer up top on the right failed last season. Will give it another shot and if it doesn’t take will just remove it.
View attachment 588761

Air layer failed but huge swelling so if it does take this year would make nice start of base for second tree.