Beautiful trees aren't they? Good luck with it :)
All my plants are showing heat stress. It's difficult to keep them looking nice but the darned Bermuda grass is gorgeous! :)
Leaper

Katrina, I googled the Japanese Stewartia and am much impressed. That beautiful tree just has to be in my future. Where did you find it and do you think spring or fall is the best time of the year to plant it? Would appreciate any information.

I got mine from Colebrook Nursery in west Tulsa. Their phone # is 918 445-0539. They have been a very good source for me when it comes to finding trees and shrubs that most other nurseries in the area do not carry.

In your zone 7 a potted JS would do fine if you planted it in September. Planting it in the fall instead of in the spring is better because, early September planting will give the tree several months of fall temperatures and rain events to establish the start of a good root system, which will be continued after the tree breaks dormancy in the spring.

Planting the tree in this described manner should help yours to avoid the struggle that mine is going through right now.

Just make sure to plant yours in a better spot than I planted mine. If you are in zone 7 the tree most likely will need to be planted in a location with either all day dappled shade, or at least afternoon shade starting no later than 1:30pm and continuing through sunset.

If you phone the nursery and find out that they still have some Japanese Stewartia it will be worth the drive. I have always been pleased with the way the owners help me with advice and their efforts to find what I need. In addition they have a nice broad selection of plants/trees/shrubs on hand. The following is a list of just a few of the items I found they had that I could not locate at any other local nursery: 'Miss Kim' Lilac (a rare dwarf cultivar), an 8 foot tall potted 'Jane' magnolia, an 8 foot tall potted Black Tupelo tree, a 6 foot tall potted Mulit-trunk (Clumped) Paperbark Maple, Thuja 'Green Giant' (the variety that is a cultivar from crossing a rare Japanese aborvitae X western cedar), and a 10 foot tall 25 gallon size potted Tuscarora crape myrtle.

Last week I drove all the way to Clinton, OK for three American Smoke trees, and for eight 2 gallon size potted Dwarf Palmetto Palms. That drive to Clinton for me was about double the distance that you would have if you drove to Tulsa from OKC.

I purchased some of the above listed items to plant in the quickly approaching fall at my Daughter's house in Northeast Texas. All her items are growing fine at my place. They are still in their pots and under a shade tree. I water them often and the shade prevents their pots from over heating and damaging the roots. The current above 95F degree summer temps have not seemed to bother them.

Hopefully this information helps.

Thanks a bunch, Karrina. Did you go to the Sunshine Nursery and Arboretum in Clinton for your smoke trees? The owners are nice people and very easy to deal with. I had a smoke tree for years and it grew wonderfully in my front yard with a southern exposure. Had to take it down when we did some remodeling. I have a place on the east side of my house that has morning sun and afternoon shade that should be just right for the Stewartia, so I'll call Colebrook if I can't find it in OKC. And thanks so much for the information.

Yes it was Sunshine Nursery in Clinton. I actually drove there twice to obtain the items mentioned in my earlier posting. The first trip I had intended to purchase one large smoke tree that had been dug and put in a 20 gallon pot that was sunk in the ground. When looking at the ones they had, the owner told me that they had not started to bloom yet because they were still adjusting to being dug out of the field. That made me uneasy about transporting, all the way back home, one of those large trees in the back of my pick-up.

They did not have any 10 gallon pot size American Smoke trees that would have easily fit in the back seat area of my pick-up, but they did have one 3 gallon pot size 14 inch tall grafted smoke tree left for sale. Sadly, that is the one I purchased. Huge difference from the originally intended purchase. But at least that little tree survived the transport, and is adjusting nicely to its new location.

The following week my daughter indicated she wanted some Dwarf Palmetto Palms, so another excursion to Clinton was called for.

That second trip revealed that all of their 20 gallon smoke trees had been sold to the city of OKC. So when I purchased 8 DPP they also agreed to sell me two of their smoke tree liners. Those two tree saplings were almost as tall as the first tree they sold me, but their trunks were much smaller. Now, both of them are doing fine in one gallon pots, but need to be staked very soon. I am greatful to get them even if they are so small.

Locally, the only smoke trees nursery suppliers will provide, is the European smoke tree varieties or the 'Grace' cultivar that is a mix of European with American Smoke. That one blooms gray smoke, which I do not prefer. The other European smokes, locally sold, seem boring with their solid purple leaves and very short flowering events. It would be nice if my trees bloom purple, but the owner said that the first grafted tree I bought from them will bloom white. It is yet to be seen what color of bloom the last two saplings I purchased will bloom. Hopefully those blooms do not turn out to be gray.

This week my Japanese Stewartia still has more new leaves that have not browned yet. The original leaves that browned from sun shock have easily fallen off when I slightly tugged on them.

The tree is getting deeply watered regularly, and it really helped a few days ago when a cold front came through dropping a half inch of rain, lots of clouds, and even when the sun came back out lowering the temperatures back into the 80s.

Hopefully the tree will successfull acclimate and survive over the next 6 weeks heat back up until the fall rains and lower temps will once again help the tree to finish adjusting.

I tried to get a good pic of my purple smoke tree which was spectacular this year. *^*^%& cheap camera, sigh. The blooms were just blotches. Looking out the south window in my house, is a volunteer mimosa, just behind it is a golden rain tree(also volunteer) and under the mimosa, I have pale yellow and pink daylilies. All this was by accident but they are the most beautiful sight. Complement each other wonderfully. All are blooming together.

broken lady, all those blooms must be stunning. It is nice that you can see them from your window. Is your smoke tree still blooming, and when did it start?

Are golden rain trees invasive as much as mimosa?

Early this spring even knowing that mimosa's are on the invasive tree list,I planted a 5 foot tall mimosa because of a fond memory of how much I loved that tree species in the yard of my childhood home.

Alas, my DH got a new weed wacker, and he got so out of hand using the thing that he stripped the bark all around the trunk of my mimosa. The tree started to send up a new shoot just below the stripped bark, but it would have looked strange to let that turn into a new trunk. Now, That is the same location where my new American Smoke tree is planted. Emotionally I felt sad to loose the mimosa tree, but logically it is much better to end up with a tree that is not reported to be as invasive. I have even read some reports that American Smoke trees are getting harder and harder to find in many parts of their Compatable USDA Zones. Hopefully my three young trees will help to preserve them from becoming lost to this part of Ok.

I am trying to get a better idea of the growth rate of the Japanese Stewartia. My landscaper (a horticulturalist) recommended it as a speciman plant in front of my home. It will be in a bed approximately 12x12. How quickly will it reach the 20ft. mark?