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Stewartia: To prune or not to prune?

12 months ago

last modified: 12 months ago

This tree suffered major damage following the brutally cold winter of ’20-‘21. I cut it back to within a few inches of ground, and it has come back nicely, but now has roughly twenty stems. How would you approach pruning it? Would you prune it at all? Pruning has never been my strong suit.

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maackia
Original Author

12 months ago

The original plant (?) had three stems, but I can’t see cutting back that drastically. I could see cutting back to seven stems, but I’m not sure what the point of that would be. When in doubt, leave as be?

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Comments (7)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
12 months ago
My vote would be to not prune. You are never going to be able to convert what you have now into a tree-like form so just go with the flow and develop a Stewartia shrub. It will still have all the same great features except maybe a bit less of the camouflage bark effect due to a lack of primary trunk.
L Clark (zone 4 WY)
12 months ago
last modified: 12 months ago
Maybe prune all, but like 6 or 7 trunks? I think I see about seven larger stems. Having 20 eventual trunks seems excessive.
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Olivia can get up to 6+ feet in 2-3 years in California and elsewhere with mild winter. Unlike in the UK, it is definietely not a rose that stays within the 4 feet tall range. In fact most David Austin roses that said 4 feet in height in their catelog will get to at least 5 - 6 feet unless you live in areas with issues of winter die back, in zone 5 - 6. My Olivia got up to 6 feet after 2 years even with extensive summer pruning. It does throw octopus canes. During its first year it reached 4 feet. It is in the back of the my rose bed. You can safely prune those long canes for Olivia. It won't mind at all. After all it is not a once blooming old garden rose which you dont' want to prune at this point of the year. However, if you wish to have rose bushes that stay around 3 - 4 feet with rouind shape, most Austins are not in that category. The exceptions are Munstead Wood and Boscobel, which I managed to keep around 3&1/2 feet tall. Agree with threelittlelights13 that planting in groups may help in the look. My garden is semi-gormal with a lot of boxwood which were planted 1&1/2 feet apart - now all grown together. and helped to create a more formal look. I am not sure that's what you are looking for, and perhaps you just want a neater looking garden. Nevertheless, I included a few photos below. Those in the fronts are Boscobel and Bolero which does stay wtihin 4 feet with pruning. The yellow is Julia Child which actually reached 5 feet in the spring.
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L Clark (zone 4 WY)
12 months ago
Could be, could be. I am not familiar with this species.
ViburnumValley central KY Bluegrass z6
12 months ago
Now now: "...I'm not sure what the point of that would be..."

Why, to coerce you to bend to our will! Why else entirely?

No, of course - the reasons are myriad. I'll list my favorite two.
- You will want to allow remaining stems more room to increase in diameter without rubbing the very adjacent current stems.
- You will gain height or spread more quickly with the energy the plant musters only being divided among fewer stems/trunks.
This topic brings back memories of long ago, of a thread shared by decumbent and me about whether to leave a plant branched low, or whether to limb it up. Good times...
maackia
Original Author
12 months ago
I was hoping for another side to the coin. It begs the question: How many stems would you keep? Whatever course I take, at some point it will likely suffer severe winter dieback. It’s cold hardy, but not below -30F. It seems to be a tree with a pretty clear line for cold hardiness.

I also fondly recall the horticultural banter. Humor and horticulture go together. BTW, which position did you favor?
ViburnumValley central KY Bluegrass z6
11 months ago
"Leave" the tree alone...

https://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/667139/#post_2896893

A great unpruned Parrotia persica...

This specimen graces Maymont, in Richmond VA.

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