Spring cutback on stewartia

It’s been a couple of years since I shared an update about a twin-trunk stewartia in my garden.

The basic care for the tree has consisted of cutback to 2-3 leaves on new shoots and leaf pruning in spring followed by light cutback in fall (see “Leaf pruning” for details). I’ve done this for the past several years now to build out the silhouette.

I also repotted the tree last winter into a bonsai pot. It had been growing in a wooden pot for several years to increase its vigor. Now that it’s growing well again, it was time to return the tree to a bonsai pot.

Here’s the tree before and after cutback and leaf pruning.

Before cutback

After cutback and leaf pruning – 34″

The basic idea behind the spring work is that interior branches can die back if they don’t receive enough light. By trimming new shoots and reducing the leaf size I can help the interior foliage receive enough light to stay healthy.

I don’t expect the tree to grow a lot this summer since it was repotted this year, but even if it does, I’ll wait until the leaves start to turn color in fall before pruning again to prevent the tree from producing new growth as it’s preparing for winter dormancy.