Whats the soil like? Soil type and PH is hugely important.

The tree hates salt and alkaline soil, if you have those then... this tree is not for you. If you have alkaline soil roses would not be very happy either.

I actually don't know what kind of soil I have, but it's all imported (when I bought this place I had a truckload of garden soil brought in). This is the area of my yard where there was *some* soil, and so I mixed the new soil in. What was here previously seemed a bit claylike. I don't live near the Gulf, so there's no salt action here. I have roses and crepe myrtles planted in the same soil, and they're doing fantastically well, beyond my imagination. These two trees, however, have had very poor performances. Hope this clarifies things a bit.

I planted a halesia diptera magniflora in my woods about ?7 years ago, and it's grown SOOO slowly I gave up on it a long time ago. I planted it in what was then an almost totally shady area, because I'd read that it was an understory tree. After I planted it, I saw some growing naturally close to Black Creek, and they're all in an exposed area where they get about a half day of sun. Since the hurricane toppled so many big trees and sunlight strikes the little thing more often now, it's started growing better, and now it's about (a whopping!) 6' tall!
I ordered a regular h. diptera last fall, potted it up, and it grew pretty good in a part sun/shade area, so I planted it recently in a part sun/shade area that gets a lot more sun that the other halesia got. Hopefully, it'll continue to thrive. Halesia may be an understory tree, but it must take the death of one or more big trees to give it enough sun to grow at a decent rate.
Sherry

I should have explained that the silverbells growing naturally by Black Creek in a mostly sunny situation were real big for a small tree - I saw them in early spring when they were in bloom, and they were beautiful.
Sherry

Hmm. I had someone give me some Silverbell seeds. I will be interesting to see how fast they grow.

I have had a similar experience to the other posters with "magniflora". Despite planting in full sun (or what passes for full sun in the UK) the growth rate has been pitifully slow in the 3 years it`s been in the ground.

On the upside it bloomed for the first time this May,although it subsequently failed to set seed.

In Flower
{{gwi:486671}}

Hopefully, my h. diptera 'magniflora' will bloom next spring - yours is beautiful, redstripe!
I forgot to mention that one thing that contributed to mine's slow growth is that it got chewed by deer several times, although a really vigorous plant will quickly rebound. This plant isn't that vigorous, but I think it's worth keeping - it's bound to bloom eventually! :)
Sherry

Hmmmm. I wish I had some ideas as to why your tree isn't thriving. I'd have thought that your climate was a tad warm for this species, but I know that we stretch those boundaries all of the time.

We put a 'magniflora' in a couple of years ago (much to the hummingbirds' delight) and it has thrived in our hard, red, unamended clay soil. I'd say that has grown 4 or 5 feet since we've planted it. In our desperate drought situation, we water it only occasionally though it is kept well mulched.

We thought that we lost it in a sudden severe freeze this past spring, but though the leaves were slow to grow back, there was no dieback whatsoever! What a treat.

Another good reason to try to keep your tree is that it is so pest free!

Wow, redstripe, that picture looks amazing. If mine did that it wouldn't be in danger of losing its spot in my garden. And thanks for the comments about its tremendously slow growth. I guess in comparison with everything else in my yard that's had amazing growth, this has been a real downer. The shovel's not coming out quite just yet, but it might be warming up...

But if and when the trees ever do grow, would the shade they provide be too dense for sun to partial sun lovers? (Specifically, I'm talking roses.) If it would be more like filtered shade the trees would stand a better chance of staying because it might work for some roses.

As I remember, the big silverbells I saw didn't have thick foliage, and the branches were spaced pretty far apart - I imagine that plenty of filtered sun would go through.
I grow some old tea roses, all in part sun/shade - they do better that way. In our summer heat, almost everything benefits from at least a little shade.
Sherry