Stewartia pseudocamellia Japanese stweartia, mountain camellia, false camellia

It is our utmost pleasure to offer this summer-blooming beauty: false camellia. It comes from moist woodlands of North America and eastern Asia (Japan, China, Vietnam, Nepal). It belongs to the same genus theaceae like camellia and tea.

Its main attraction are the flowers. They are 6-7 cm wide, pure white with a cluster of rich yellow stamens in the centre and appear from the first hot days of June and keep popping up until end July. It has thick, rich green leaves which turn yellow, orange and purple in autumn. False camellia has peeling bark which gives an extra feature especially in winter.

It dislikes windy locations. Stewartia needs light, peaty soil with plenty of humus, always moist but well-drained. As it is difficult to transplant find it the best spot in your garden where it will linger forever and ever. Fully hardy to -29°C (USDA zone 5).