Stewartia varieties: which one works best as single trunk?

I have decided to plant a stewartia in my backyard once my neighbors' trees leaf out so I can determine how much sun and shade I recieve. I have been researching the pseudo camellia with the multi -color bark, and the one with the cinnamon colored bark, I think it is monodelphia. Are there any pros and cons that one possesses over the other? I will want it grown as a single trunked tree, not a bush as seen in some of the photos I've found. A local nursery person said they can be finicky about where they are planted, and do need some shade.

Stuartia sinensis is cited as the best for good bark.

Resin

PS note that the correct spelling is Stuartia, not Stewartia (an orthographic error under the provisions of the ICBN)
http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/cgi-bin/web.dbs/genlist.pl?THEACEAE

I should have said that I need a small tree, sorry. Thanks for the correction on the spelling, by the way.

Just checked plant files and I see that the sinensis IS a small tree, as well.

Yep, it can grow up to 12-14m tall in cultivation, and is reported to grow to 18m tall in the wild in China

Resin

I don't have Dirr in front of me and can't recall all the shrubby species (S. rostrata is one, ?S. monadelpha too). But most of the other species are trees, including S. pseudocamellia, S. pseudocamellia v koreana (aka S, koreana), S. sinensis, and others. I personally would choose S. pseudocamellia or S. koreana if I were getting only one stewartia. If you can find it, plants sold as S. koreana in the US often seem more heat tolerant according to Dirr, and the one I have is a better bloomer than the two S. pseudocamellias, and has superior fall color too. It may be a better tree for the south.

Whether the tree is single or multitrunked or low branched depends as much on the individual you end up with as the species. All of the above trees can certainly be single trunked, though I do have a multitrunked/low branched S. pseudocamellia too. But if you want a single trunked plant, you should search local good woody nurseries to find an individual which meets your needs. S. pseudocamellia and koreana are very upright, almost pyramidal when young, but will start to spread more as they get to be 12-15' tall. That may be a characteristic of individual plants too however, and if you find a nusery with quite a few stewartias, especially of different sizes so you can see how those plants grow, you may be able to match better what you want to an individual tree.

Stewartias don't need a lot of pruning but they certainly can be, and you can probably train a young tree to some extent into a single or multitrunk, whatever you want.

Stewartia pseudocamelia bark on the trees at Dawes.

I've gotten a bit bold with Stewartia in nearly full-sun sites and in heavy clay soil. So far (fingers crossed), so good (knock on wood). Two plants and two plus years.

Resin is correct on the nomenclature, but almost all references and website links are under the misspelling. You might as well check under both, however, just to be certain you're getting all the information you can. Meticulous sites that correct enough to use the right spelling, after all, might be careful enough to offer the most correct, best information.

Scott

The two North American species are Stewartia/Stuartia ovata (Mountain stewartia/stuartia) and Stewartia/Stuartia malacodendron (silky stewartia/stuartia). These shrubbier forms are both found in the south.

Silky is native to the Coastal Plain but doesn't like wet feet. Mountain is found (where else) in shady rich soils, often near creeks.

Dirr recommends S. monadelpha, S. malacodendron, and S. ovata for zone 7b and south.