Quick Guide to Native Stewartias
Botanical Name: Stewartia ovata, Stewartia malacodendron
Common Names: Mountain Camellia, Silky Camellia
Plant Type: Large deciduous shrub or small tree
Mature Size: 10 to 15 feet tall
Sun Exposure: Partial shade
Soil Type: Acidic, rich, well-drained soils
Native Range: South Carolina and the southeastern United States
Flower Color: White
Bloom Time: Late spring through summer
Fall Interest: Yellow, orange, and red foliage
Wildlife Value: Seeds consumed by birds and small mammals
Propagation: Seed, ground layering
Difficulty Level: Moderate to difficult
Garden Use: Woodland gardens, shade gardens, native plant collections
Why Grow Native Stewartias Instead of Traditional Camellias?
What Makes Stewartias Different from Camellias?
If you like camellias, you will fall in love with their rarer, distant American relatives, the silky camellia and the mountain camellia. Despite their confusing common names, they are not camellias but stewartias.
Camellias and stewartias belong to the tea family (Theaceae) and have beautiful, showy flowers with a cluster of stamens at their center.
While camellias are native only to Asia, stewartias have two species native in the United States (both occur in South Carolina), the silky camellia (Stewartia malacodendron) and the mountain camellia (Stewartia ovata).
Several of the Asian stewartias (about 18 species) are widely cultivated in American gardens, like the Japanese stewartia (Stewartia pseudocamellia).
Why Native Stewartias Are Rare in Cultivation
American stewartias are uncommon/rare in the wild and in the horticultural trade, being challenging to source and propagate.
Benefits of Growing Native Stewartias
However, if you appreciate specialty deciduous large shrubs/small trees (10 to 15 ft tall) and have patience and dedication, you will be rewarded with beautiful large white flowers, yellow or orange/red fall color and a fascinating conversation point in your garden.
Yellow fall color of a cultivated silky camellia in a partner’s private property in Rabun County, GA.
Michele Dani Sanchez, ©2026, Clemson Extension
How to Grow Mountain Camellia (Stewartia ovata)
Native Habitat of Mountain Camellia
Mountain camellia, as the name suggests, grows in the southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont, usually in forests along streams or shaded hillsides.
Wild mountain camellia tree in Sumter National Forest in spring with new leaves emerging.
Michele Dani Sanchez, ©2026, Clemson Extension
Best Growing Conditions for Mountain Camellia
It prefers acidic, moist, rich, loamy soils and partial shade and is sensitive to drought, soil compaction and severe heat.
Mountain Camellia Flowers, Fruits, and Seeds
In the summer, stunning white flowers with orange anthers and yellow pollen are pollinated by insects.
By the fall, the flowers develop into an ovoid woody capsule with persistent long sepals that split to reveal ‘flattish’ brown winged seeds. Birds and small mammals disperse these seeds.
Mountain camellia flowers with yellow anthers (right), green immature ovoid capsules (top left) and ripe capsules and winged seeds (bottom).
Michele Dani Sanchez, ©2026, Clemson Extension
Key Characteristics of Mountain Camellia
- Native to the southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont
- White summer flowers
- Orange anthers with yellow pollen
- Winged seeds
- Moist, acidic woodland soils
- Partial shade
- Yellow, orange, and red fall color
- Large deciduous shrub or small tree
Wildlife Value of Mountain Camellia
To my surprise, during a seed-collecting field trip along the Chattooga River, my colleagues and I observed a little mouse feeding on the seeds while resting on the branches of a mountain camellia tree. Adorable!
Little mouse feeding and resting in a mountain camellia tree in Sumter National Forest.
Martin A. Hamilton, ©2026, Clemson Extension
How to Grow Silky Camellia (Stewartia malacodendron)
Native Habitat of Silky Camellia
Silky camellia grows in the southeastern US coastal plain, in woodlands, ravines, creeks, and bayheads.
Mountain camellia native habitat in Sumter National Forest along the Chattooga River.
Michele Dani Sanchez, ©2026, Clemson Extension
Best Growing Conditions for Silky Camellia
It prefers acidic, rich, loamy, or sandy soils high in organic matter, with good drainage and partial shade, with morning sun.
Why Is It Called Silky Camellia?
Its name ‘silky’ refers to the hairy, silky underside of the leaves.
Silky Camellia Flowers, Fruits, and Seeds
Its white flowers in late spring resemble those of mountain camellia, but it has blue anthers on purple filaments.
Fruits and seeds are also different from those of mountain camellia.
Capsules are round with the calyx tightly hugging the fruit, and seeds are brown, angular and shiny.
Yellow fall color of a cultivated silky camellia in a partner’s private property in Rabun County, GA.
Michele Dani Sanchez, ©2026, Clemson Extension
Key Characteristics of Silky Camellia
- Native to the southeastern Coastal Plain
- White flowers in late spring
- Blue anthers on purple filaments
- Hairy undersides on leaves
- Round capsules
- Shiny angular seeds
- Yellow fall color
How to Propagate Native Stewartias
Growing Mountain Camellia and Silky Camellia from Seed
My personal experience is that growing mountain or silky camellia plants from seed is not easy.
Challenges of Seed Propagation
Seeds require alternating periods of warm and cold moist stratification to break the double dormancy.
Germination can take 2 to 3 years, and the germination rate is quite low.
Seedlings are slow-growing.
Ground Layering Native Stewartias
Ground-layering is a faster way to propagate these species if you have a tree with low branches.
Now, you can understand why it is rare in the horticultural trade.
Native Stewartia Propagation at a Glance
- Seed propagation is difficult
- Seeds require warm and cold moist stratification
- Double dormancy is common
- Germination may take 2–3 years
- Germination rates are often low
- Ground layering is typically faster
- Propagation challenges contribute to limited nursery availability
Native Stewartia Conservation in South Carolina
Safeguarding Wild Populations of Mountain Camellia
Surveying and banking seeds from wild populations of mountain camellia in South Carolina is underway through a collaboration among Clemson Cooperative Extension, the South Carolina Botanical Garden at Clemson University, and partners.
Stewartia Conservation Partnerships
In 2025, seeds were shared with The Polly Hill Arboretum in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, which holds the Nationally Accredited (NAPCC) collection of stewartia.
Polly Hill Arboretum has been researching and conserving Stewartia species since 1967.
References
- Camellia (HGIC 1062) Fact Sheet
- Plants for Shade (HGIC 1716) Factsheet
- Stewartia (UNC Flora of the Southeastern United States website)
- Stewartia ovata (Mountain Camellia, Mountain Stewartia, Summer Dogwood), (North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox)
- Stewartia malacodendron (Round-fruited Stewartia, Silky Camellia, Virginia Stewartia), (North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox)
- Stewartia ovata, Grimshaw, J. (2016), Trees and Shrubs Online
- Polly Hill Arboretum Stewartia National Collection
- Taming the wild Stewartia, Boland, T. M., & Rounsaville, T. J. (2019)
