Need suggestions on what to do with stewartia

[Eddy]

I have a 12 year old stewartia monadelpha that I purchased recently. I need some advice on when to trunk chop and some all around knowledge on this specific tree.

It is potted with 40% turface and 60% pine bark and is doing extremely well.
So far has about 3-5 inches of new shoot growth this season.

It was fertilized 2 weeks ago with 18-6-8 slow/timed release. Was told to fertilize every 6 months.

My main questions are when to prune branches,
When to prune leaves
When to trunk chop and should it be done before or after a repot or at the same time. I plan on taking off the smaller secondary trunk and about 6 inches off the top of the main trunk. Can these be done at the same time?

I know geographic location is important. I'm in southern NC. South of Charlotte.

 

[ArtistWolf]

Beautiful!

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Not usually considered a ''beginners tree'', yet it is one of the better deciduous trees one can grow as bonsai. There are some famous stewartia bonsai in Japan, they are exquisite when done well. I need to hit the books before I can answer you, I have one myself, but am only in my second year with it, and was just leaving it alone to get established. They are sometimes referred to as winter hardy camellias. They are distantly related to camellia, and growth habit somewhat similar, though not identical.

I do know:
soil media should be similar to what one uses for azalea and camellia. Slightly acidic. I potted mine in a blend of Kanuma, Perlite, & pine bark, topped with a layer of shredded long fiber sphagnum moss to hold the perlite down and keep it from floating away. This is in a grow out flat, 15 x 15 x 5 inches. In a bonsai pot you can use pumice or lava instead of perlite. Pumice and lava will look better than the bright white of Perlite.

If your municipal or well water is higher than 150 ppm in total alkalinity (dissolved calcium carbonate) the water is too hard for constant use. Try to use rain water, or low dissolved solids water most of the time to water the Stewartia. In a pinch, its better to water with hard water than let get too dry, but try to use rain water or low dissolved solids water for 4 out of 5 times you water the tree. (majority of the time).

@Owen Reich - Owen, could you chime in? I know you know and have experience with this species.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Trunk chop - the main focal point for Stewartia is the wonderful bark. Looking at your tree I would NOT trunk chop. Go big. Try to use as much of the trunk you already have. It is what the tree is famous for. They take a long time to heal scars on the trunk, and the healed over scar will not have the beauty of the smooth, trunk without scars. They are fully winter hardy in your area, since you don't have to bring it indoors, you should be able to keep it as a larger size bonsai. Show off the trunk you have. I would keep the left branch, at least past the first 3 to 5 branches, as your main trunk.

The right branch is unfortunate, the chop looks awful and will look bad for a very long time, they are incredibly slow to heal chops. Because the right branch is so thick, I would consider eliminating it, but maybe not, perhaps there is a way to keep it.

If this were my tree I'd transplant it to a grow out box, no more than 5 inches deep, but large enough that it holds the same amount or more media than the current pot holds. You need to repot it and see what the nebari looks like before you decide what to do with your trunk and branches. The roots and nebari will determine the tree's front, since the nebari and trunk are the features of the tree you want to emphasize, this means you need to see the nebari before you cut anything off. You are past the ideal time for repotting this year, though there is a ''second season'' in middle to late summer, where repotting is safe to do. But your ''after care'' has to be up to the task if you summer repot. That is the reason early spring is usually the best time to repot.

If it were my tree, I'd do nothing this year, repot in early spring next year, and in between I'd read up on Stewartia, get or build a grow box, gather Kanuma & media components for repotting, and otherwise get all ready for next year.

If @Owen Reich chimes in, follow his lead, as he is much more knowledgeable regarding Stewartia than I am.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

At risk of piling on,
a trunk that thick on a Stewartia in the USA is not common, I'd pay a fair amount for material with that age, this is a way of saying you picked up a tree with some real potential, worth taking your time with it. It would be easy to butcher it beyond repair. So go slow, you want to save the best feature, the trunk, and keep it as free of scars as possible. So you have a good eye for picking material, even if you picked a tree with problems, it will be great, 5 to 10 years from now, if you go slow and resist the urge to chop first and plan later.

 

[quietobserver]

http://bonsaiunearthed.com/fujikawa-kouka-en/stewartia-monadelpha/

Some good reading there from Owen....

 

[Eddy]

At risk of piling on,
a trunk that thick on a Stewartia in the USA is not common, I'd pay a fair amount for material with that age, this is a way of saying you picked up a tree with some real potential, worth taking your time with it. It would be easy to butcher it beyond repair. So go slow, you want to save the best feature, the trunk, and keep it as free of scars as possible. So you have a good eye for picking material, even if you picked a tree with problems, it will be great, 5 to 10 years from now, if you go slow and resist the urge to chop first and plan later.

Wow that's some great info. I will definitely take all of that into consideration. I was thinking of taking off about 1-2" of the main trunk to a new leader I have found that would be good for a good taper. Don't know what I'm going to do with the secondary trunk yet. I was planning on letting it do its thing this year until next summer to see what's up with the nebari. When I repot should I take a considerable amount of roots off? Or just straighten them out and get them untangled and see what's going on with them. Also. About sun. Do they prefer morning, or full on afternoon sun? And about how much a day? Also I heard they like to have pretty cool and moist soil. Is that also true about these?

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I just read the stuff from Owen Reich's article linked by @quietobserver - thanks - this is the info I was hoping for.. I am printing it out and filing it in my Stewartia folder.

@Eddy - I made one factual error. According to Owen's article linked above, Stewartia are relatively quick to heal trunk scars and wounds from removing branches. And when they heal, eventually the wound becomes invisible. So I was wrong on that account. The article is very similar to how you treat a beech tree, Fagus, but beech are slow to heal scars, I regurgitated beech info. Sorry about that.

This means doing a trunk chop is not as ill advised as I made it out to be. Though, as I said, a fat trunk is the tree's strength, and having a long, relatively thick trunk to display is worth preserving if possible. It does mean that the overly thick first branch on the right, can be removed and in a few years the scar will disappear. Good news on that.

So take this all in, definitely read and re-read Owen's article a few times as you make your plans for this one.

 

[sorce]

Leo you are Friggin awesome!

Sorce

 

[Eddy]

Yep I read his article when I firs

I just read the stuff from Owen Reich's article linked by @quietobserver - thanks - this is the info I was hoping for.. I am printing it out and filing it in my Stewartia folder.

@Eddy - I made one factual error. According to Owen's article linked above, Stewartia are relatively quick to heal trunk scars and wounds from removing branches. And when they heal, eventually the wound becomes invisible. So I was wrong on that account. The article is very similar to how you treat a beech tree, Fagus, but beech are slow to heal scars, I regurgitated beech info. Sorry about that.

This means doing a trunk chop is not as ill advised as I made it out to be. Though, as I said, a fat trunk is the tree's strength, and having a long, relatively thick trunk to display is worth preserving if possible. It does mean that the overly thick first branch on the right, can be removed and in a few years the scar will disappear. Good news on that.

So take this all in, definitely read and re-read Owen's article a few times as you make your plans for this one.

yep I read his article when I first bought the tree. I plan on taking the smaller trunk/branch off and building a formal upright tree. And build the taper into the main trunk. Hopefully this plan works out nicely.

 

[JudyB]

A formal tree has no movement in the trunk, so this one won't really ever be classified as a formal upright by the book... Not that it matters. I have one of these, but it's pseudo camellia, don't know how different they are. It's actually pretty easy care, and seems to grow during warm weather fairly quickly. They are rather slow to heal wounds, so keep those to the chosen back if possible. Mine is getting ready to bloom massively. The leaves are pretty large, but do reduce a bit. Go for a larger tree for sure so the scale is better. I would think long and hard about loosing large chunks off the tree, I think I may have kept the large chunk I cut off mine looking back... I use a regular mix of Akadama pumice and lava, Akadama being more of the percentage. They like to stay moist.
A link to mine if you are interested.
https://bonsainut.com/threads/stewartia-pseudocamellia.14219/

 

[Owen Reich]

The only thing I will add is, Stewartia monadelpha heals well with a good root system, in good mix, with plenty of water, chopped sphagnum on surface, and organic fertilizer applied liberally. I use Aoki Blend with large Akadama for air exchange / drainage layer.

A crappy nursery stock plant with bad roots and aggressive chops will not heal well if rushed. Just bought 40 big pre-bonsai that are field grown. First step will be shorten strong branches and improve fibrous roots. They will be available in a few years.

 

[JudyB]

They will be available in a few years.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Just bought 40 big pre-bonsai that are field grown. First step will be shorten strong branches and improve fibrous roots. They will be available in a few years.

Let me know if you need somewhere to leave a couple in good hands for a few decades. I don't live that far away.

 

[eugene brown]

This is the month of the stewartia. I just got one and my only focus is to keep it alive. I love the bark and trunk on these trees. You have a nice tree. Let us know how you progress.

 

[JudyB]

This is the month of the stewartia. I just got one and my only focus is to keep it alive. I love the bark and trunk on these trees. You have a nice tree. Let us know how you progress.

show us show us show us.....

 

[coh]

Let me know if you need somewhere to leave a couple in good hands for a few decades. I don't live that far away.

Yeah, can I put in an order now for one? Depending on the size and cost, of course

 

[JudyB]

Yeah, can I put in an order now for one? Depending on the size and cost, of course

Hey, hey, shotgun!!!

 

[Wilson]

Any updates on these different trees mentioned? @Eddy @Owen Reich ?

 

[Owen Reich]

Had quite a few Stewartia monadelpha and many have sold. I believe there are 12 left.

Here are some photos of the available ones, and two that I’ll keep; can you pick out the two keepers? Containers are 30” long x 22” wide x 9” tall. Massive trunks and the canopies ramify exponentially fast. Pics are from March. You can’t see through most of them now, so time to thin them.