I am no expert so this info is general.. : )
I have a few nyssa sylvatica trees in my yard. They probably need a fair amount of water in its first few years..They are pretty tolerant of water, but then again my soil drains quickly.. They seem to like a good amount of sun too.
Some are as tall as 80 feet with a 30 foot spread, but generally 60 feet tall and 20 foot spread.. Probably 1 to 2 feet a year growth.. If you are zone 5 or above your probably okay with the cold.
Parrotia persica's are awesome but I don't know much about them..
J

As a species, they love water and tolerate poorly draining soil but loams are preferred. Often found on bottomlands in abundance, but also found on dry uplands so they can do well drained dry, too. Full sun is highly preferred. IF THEY SURVIVE THE FIRST COUPLE OF YEARS, pat yourself on the back and enjoy. This period of time is even more important for this species than many others. MAKE SURE YOU WATER IT ALOT the first year. It would do well to water a little more frequently than you do for most other trees.

Expected growth would be a little over a foot a year after it is established. They are capable of 2'+ per year in the right conditions.

I had a 10 footer die to the ground spring following a fall planting. It responded by sprouting from the base and put up 3'+ suckers. It is a gnarly work of art atm. Planted a 'Wildfire' this spring to see if spring planting works any better. I hope you have better luck... if you remember to check this topic ;-)

Here is a link that might be useful: The first one

grayandamy, what part of the country are you in?

I like Nyssa but do not know if I have ever seen the cultivar you are getting. Ya must post some pics! For what its worth Google tells me Nyssa Sylvatica Zydeco Twist likes wet soil, sun and is salt tolerant.

Also FWIW I have experienced die back EVERY time I have transplanted a Nyssa. Someplace on here j0nd03 and I have discussed my dieback on a Nyssa Sylvatica Wildfire. I got lucky and the new growth is from above the graft. If you do suffer die back my advice would be watch where it regrows from.

Toronado, I'm in SW PA, pittsburgh area. I read on here about someone w/dieback every year, must've been you. My bro used to live in St Louis, and it seemed a bit warmer than here always (hotter summers) though same zone....

JOnd, thanks..."if they survive first few years"... cringe... I'm praying proper planting soil, space, root pruning and WATER are what does that... as I said, it may not be till fall when I plant (better time, but worried about issues claimed with taproot)...as soil is all diseased it seems...

Ugh, hate plants that need wet soil!

How I wish I remembered why/how I ordered them..

THANKS EVERYONE, you clarified a lot!!

Amy

no time to waste ...

wet some potting media today .... wet but not soggy ...

enough to fill about half of a 5 gal pot/bucket ...

on arrival.. remove from package ... insert in pot w/media .. and add wetted newspaper if all the roots are not covered ...

if sent potted.. ignore above ..

place pot in cold garage .. or north side of building ...

it should have been sent dormant.. no leaves ... our goal is to keep it dormant.. until ma nature brings it out of dormancy.. in a few weeks or a month ... do NOT bring it in the house ...

now you have time to find a perfect spot... but do get it in the ground within a few weeks ..

do NOT forget.. a dormant potted plant .. does not need a lot of water.. and most potted plants do not like cold wet soil.. it might lead to root rots ...

advise if it is already leafed out ..

do you know how to PROPERLY PLANT TREES??

check out the link

absolute perfect planting time.. in my z5 MI is the first few weeks of april .. so you should be about a week earlier ... so you have plenty of time to take care of this ... and a dormant plant.. will not care how long it takes.. as long as the roots do not dry out ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: PROPER PALNTING

Ken, it's dormant as can be, from oregon. They are also trees notoriously late to leaf out... properly plant trees? Now I do..... root pruning when need be, just spent 30 min. yesterday on one freaking 3 gallon shrub, it was ridicoulous how much work, just b/c whomever doesn't rootprune when potting up...thank goodness for bonsai root rake..

I have plenty of time... but the soil I have presently that I'm not trying to r/o numerous diseases is so so compact and HARD CLAY... digging the hole, 3 times at least as wide, worrying about stupid tree roots from neighbors trees... that's the backbbreaking part

Amy, I'm in Northern Cal so can't opine about timing issues for you or cold tolerance but I have about a dozen N. sylvatica - both straight species and pendula. I got them specifically because they tolerate wet feet and they are in the wettest part of my property and stay soggy for months in winter and into late spring. Then they go bone dry for a few months and tolerate that, too. Clearly their roots do ok with less oxygen than most. Also, I do not have acid soil - I'm pretty near neutral pH and the spot that they're in is not well-drained, and my trees have thrived. Your Zydeco Twist looks fabulous. I moved one after a few years in the ground and it took it ok, just set it back a bit - it's still smaller than the others. They leaf out later than some here, but way ahead of the crape myrtles, for example. Mine have been in for about 12 years and are perhaps 15' tall. My only complaint is suckering, but not all of mine do it and I wonder if I planted those that do too deep?
I have a Parrotia persica near the biggest clump of Nyssas - it is a much slower grower (mine is 'Select') and I did plant that one up on a mound as I was a bit concerned about the drainage there - it has done fine also. They're native to Iran and are pretty tough I think.
The only C. kousa that I have grown I killed but my fault not the tree's.
Great choices for fall color!

Here is a link that might be useful: Form and Foliage

formandfoliage, hi! you must have a huge yard!!!

GLAD the TWIST is smaller than the others, it's supposed to be...whatever smaller amounts to over time..I'm always glad/happy to know of your growth rate, I know climate/conditions determine but it HELPS..I hear they are resistant to "honey fungus" good to know. I don't care about leaf out date... THANKS FOR YOUR INFO!! Mine's going to have to have some light shade.

You have a Parrotia Persica too? I hope the cultivator I'm getting, ruby vase, is as narrow as they claim, like 12 feet or something... I hear they often are grown as multistem 12 ft shrubs (Parrotias) which must mean slow growth, suitable under power lines, I question that. I too will plant mine up even though the soil there, or wherever, will be better.

I'm afraid about the Kousa, may pass it on to my mom, they say it's a dwarfish one, grows slow, can keep in a container for years...

THANKS everyone... wish I was rich enough to have a gardener, don't we all??
amy

got the trees, 2 were perfect. The Nyssa had some root issues, big time. I was lost, not knowing if some tap was already there... I did easy part first, most feeders remain. At the bottom of where it must have been in the pot, the problem came. There were THICK circling roots all bound together. I tried to tease some out but there were crooked, at angles. I always thought roots should be pruned so they are relatively horizontal, I didn't know if in a suckering type plant or something like this if this okay.. and it's way below root collar. I'm so done with this project for the night...such messes I make...

I don't know if cutting back such thick roots at base will kill it. I don't think I cut them enough to make them strictly horizontal, just not as girdled. Anyway, I'm sure I set it way back...

I don't know where this tap root is, or if it's there yet, or if I cut it off.. I don't know if I should further damage the poor thing and tomorrow see if those thick circling roots at base can be cut short and straight. I know both horizontal and vertical roots are needed. At least this is the time of year to do this, dormant. Beautiful tree.

Amy

Amy,
I defer to folks who know more about roots than I do - I have to admit I just slammed mine into the soil as I didn't know much back then about how bad some nursery practices can be and they have never had a problem other than a couple of them suckering. In this photo you can see the Nyssas in the background (that's the beginning of a stand of about 7-8) bright gold last November. They range from brilliant orange to gold.

{{gwi:331552}}I actually have 2 Parrotias - the 'Select' and then a variegated one called 'Persian Lace'. It's gorgeous if I do say so myself...
Here's a shot of it in fall color...silly me I did not think to take photos of it during the summer to show off its variegated foliage.
{{gwi:331553}}

Your 'Ruby Vase' sounds beautiful. Hope your Nyssa roots come out ok!

Sara

Here is a link that might be useful: Form and Foliage

beautiful GORGEOUS photos...thanks..

I emailed the man at Greer where Nyssa came from trying to describe and asking his advice....