Plea for a tree ID from me

Saddler

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The leaves, or leaf has finally hardened off so I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction. The closest I've found is the Japanese stewartia.

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I bought a tree last fall because I could see where the tree might go, but mostly I bought it because of the bark. Not knowing the tree type, I went with the rule of thumb and repotted it when I saw a couple buds pushing. It seems to be growing but.... What kind of love does it crave?
 

Smoke

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Stewartia is pseudocamellia...I would say some type of camellia.
 

Bonsai Nut

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A very interesting tree. Where did you buy it? It doesn't to me look like a Japanese stewartia, which has softer, rounder leaves with rounded teeth on the margins (versus this tree which has pronounced sawteeth). Did you do that trunk chop? Or was it there when you bought it?
 

Saddler

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I apologize for the shots. Stupid iPhone with zoom lens not making crappy pics. Next time I'll let my six year old eat a large bag of sugar and then have him use my 3rd gen iPad to take the pics. I can also put the tree in full sun with a matte black background. That will fix the problem haha

I haven't found anything (yet) in the Camellia family that is a match. I wouldn't be sad if it was though.
 

Saddler

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@Bonsai Nut I bought it almost exactly as you see it, it just has more leaves then when I bought it and I repotted it because it was horribly root bound and it was cheap, I could afford to have it die and not lose sleep if I made a mistake doing so. I do hope it lives and does well though.
 

Bonsai Nut

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No I mean - WHERE did you buy it? A local nursery that sells plants for the Pacific NW? Or a pre-bonsai nursery? Even an online nursery?

If you bought it locally from a Vancouver nursery that sells Canadian plants... that will tell us a ton.
 

Saddler

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@Bonsai Nut I apologize for not reading your comment fully. Lack of comprehension is ugh!

It came from a local bonsai nursery. It was part of a donation to the nursery to raise funds for the 2011 tsunami relief in Japan which came from a collector getting out of bonsai.
 

Bonsai Nut

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@Bonsai Nut I apologize for not reading your comment fully. Lack of comprehension is ugh!

It came from a local bonsai nursery. It was part of a donation to the nursery to raise funds for the 2011 tsunami relief in Japan which came from a collector getting out of bonsai.

Wow ok thank you. "Donation from local collector" could mean just about anything. However it does mean that said tree is cold hardy for at least the last 6 years up in your neck of the woods. When you bought it was it winter and completely defoliated?
 

Saddler

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When I got it was completely naked and had been for a month or so. I bought it early October so it was just before we got snow (we had five months with snow last winter where five days of snow is probably more then average, I left Yukon to get away from snow lol). I think this last winter did do a lot of damage as I am thinking most of the lower branches are dead. I don't want to do the scratch test for fear of destroying that one bud that might come through. It does back bud on somewhat older wood as I have leaves just above the top chop.
 

Bonsai Nut

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All I can recommend at this point is don't do a thing! Don't mess with the soil, don't prune or pinch or touch it. Just water it and pray. Let all the buds and new growth extend as fully as they can. Don't wire. Also (since you just repotted) be really careful not to fertilize until the tree is starting to throw strong growth (which is the sign of healthy roots). If you have an extremely hot day, protect it from the sun and wind, but otherwise give it plenty of light.

I find this a very interesting tree. I can't say I have seen one like this before - which doesn't mean much since I certainly haven't seen all the trees in the world. Something about the leaves reminds me of azalea - though I know azalea doesn't have toothed leaves. I will continue to look... it is an interesting ID project.
 

Saddler

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Thanks. I have kept it where it gets a couple hours of morning sun and then shaded from direct sun for the rest of the day but gets light reflected off my house. I have been giving it fish and seaweed fertilizer with some B1 vitamins because I have it. I even arranged the other trees around it to prevent feline traffic from touching it. Other then that, the most I do is stare at it with an intense gaze looking for new buds and search for trees like it online. The buds appearing are doubling every week, so I am having reluctant hope with it.
 
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