| General Description | Stewartia ovata can be a small understory tree or a large ornamental shrub. It is a low-maintenance, slow-growing plant that flowers in the summer. |
| ID Characteristic | Stewartia ovata has dark green summer foliage, and orange foliage in the autumn. It has white saucer-shaped flowers that are in bloom during the summer season. It also has bark that is easy to identify with its colour and texture. |
| Shape | This plant has an equal spread, with dense spreading branches. It is a bushy, rounded shrub. |
| Landscape | Best suited as a shrub border, an understory tree, or a flowering tree in the landscape. It can also be used for themed gardens such as native plant gardens, cottage gardens, and winter gardens as it has attractive winter bark. |
| Propagation | This can be propagated through seed or softwood cuttings. To propagate from seed, they need 3-5 months of warm stratification and then another 3 months of cold stratification. The seeds should be sown in the autumn and kept in a cold frame; they can take up to two years to germinate. For propagation through cuttings, take 7.5-10 cm heel cuttings from an older part of the plant in the late spring or early summer. Giving the plant heat from the bottom can help to encourage rooting. |
| Cultivation | For best growing conditions the Stewartia ovata prefers moist, well-drained, loamy, and acidic soils. It prefers the soil to have a pH ranging from 4.5 to 6.5, and it prefers partial shade but can tolerate full sun conditions. |
| Pests | There are no major insect or disease problems; however, it is sensitive to soil compaction and drought. It can also experience leaf scorch if planted in full sun conditions. |
| Notable Specimens | There is a specific specimen of Stewartia ovata at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St Louis, Missouri, United States. |
| Habitat | This deciduous plant can be found in the Appalachian Mountains and along the edges of wooden streams in Piedmont. They prefer to grow in shaded ravines and moist forests. |
| Bark/Stem Description | The bark has ridges that are grey and brown, and furrows that are orange and brown. The bark is non-exfoliating. Younger stems are red and brown, while the older stems turn green. They are smooth and have a zig-zag pattern. |
| Flower/Leaf Bud Description | The buds are hairy, and 2-5 mm long. They are a silvery colour and wing-shaped. |
| Leaf Description | The leaves are green and glossy, turning orange and red in the autumn. The leaves are elliptical to ovate, simple, and alternate. The margin is entire, and there are hairs present on the leaf. The average length is 7.5-15 cm, with a width of 2.5-7.5 cm. |
| Flower Description | The flowers are white in colour, in the shape of a saucer, and bloom during the summer. They are 2.5 -7.5 cm, with 4-5 petals each. It is a solitary flower, with ruffled edges. The flower has purple stamens and orange anthers. Bees and other insects can pollinate, but they are self-fertile. |
| Fruit Description | Stewartia ovata has brown oval-shaped capsules that are five-segmented. When they ripen in the summer the capsule splits open and has red and brown seeds inside. |
| Colour Description | The foliage is dark green in the summer and reddish orange in the autumn. The bark is a mix of grey, brown, and orange colours. The fruit can be a brown or copper colour, and the flowers are white when in bloom. |
| Texture Description | It is a medium-textured plant in every season. |