Mountain Camellia is a deciduous small tree or large shrub native to the Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont regions, prized for its camellia-like flowers that bloom in July and its stunning seasonal transformations. Growing 10 to 15 feet tall and wide with a naturally shrubby habit, this hardy species thrives in zones 5 through 9 and brings both elegance and resilience to the landscape. Its dark green summer foliage shifts to rich orange-scarlet in fall, while the showy summer blooms offer a refined touch to gardens that appreciate understory specimens.
Partial Sun
Moderate
5-9
180in H x 180in W
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Low
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Mountain Camellia produces delicate, camellia-like flowers in mid-summer when many trees have finished blooming, offering a second wave of floral interest. The combination of glossy dark green leaves, summer flowers, and fiery fall color creates nearly year-round garden presence. Growing as a naturally shrubby tree with moderate water needs and low maintenance requirements, it adapts well to the dappled light of woodland edges or open gardens in zones 5 through 9.
Mountain Camellia serves as an ornamental flowering tree, valued for both its summer blooms and seasonal foliage changes. It excels in woodland gardens, along stream banks, and as a specimen tree where its July flowers and fall color can be appreciated as focal points in the landscape.
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“Stewartia ovata evolved in the wooded stream banks and bluff bases throughout the Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont, from Virginia south to Alabama. This native deciduous small tree has long been valued as an understory species in its natural habitat, where it grows among other shade-adapted plants along waterways and forest edges. Its scientific name honors John Stuart, the Earl of Bute and an 18th-century patron of botanical gardens, while its common names reflect both its camellia-like flowers and mountain origins.”