I plan to mulch it and add some peat into the native soil when planting (or should I bypass this?).

===>>> no... no..no.. NEVER amend a planting hole.. review this link ...https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub

note section one.. and hold it over for planting in about a month ... when trees in the area are changing color.. or when nights are consistently in the lower 50s...

where are you.. zone is simply low winter temp.. it really doenst tell us much.. since z5 is about half the us ... seems like ive asked you this 2 or 3 times in the last week ...

unless you soil is rather similar to potting media.. i might bare root it ... as i would be planting it when it was dormant ...

you dont mention how close the the south facing house. reflected sun and heat could be a problem if very close ...

google up the latin name.. and scroll thru a couple hundred pix.. so you can get a flavor of mature size.. and plant it accordingly.. so you dont have to start massacring it too soon ...

ken

They appreciate some shade, protect it from rabbits and pray you don’t get a zone 4 winter.

tj

Ken, the zone is stated in the thread

Thanks GG. I will take a pic of the potted plant. Nice shape as it is. The garden centre suggested adding acid since my soil is alkaline. Should I be concerned about alkaline soil?

Peat was suggested

How alkaline is your soil pH? Stewartias will grow quite happily in relatively neutral soil so I likely wouldn't start attempting any adjustments unless closer to 8.0. And I'd amend with garden sulfur, not peat moss, should any amending be required.

FWIW, Nearby a red oak grows extremely well. So soils might not be that alkaline.

I will hold off amending.

GG, should I protect the tree for at least the first winter or two? It will be exposed to some cold, dry winter wind. I am a little concerned about the hardiness of this tree in my zone. It's borderline.

If you have concerns, then do so. It certainly won't hurt the tree to provide some winter protection.

What would you suggest? Burlap wrapped around the entire tree or perhaps only on the windward side?

Seller said it is hardy by us.

I'm not the one to ask! 🙄 I've never winter protected a tree in my life! Maybe just a good mulch and a windbreak?

I've never done so either.. and I'm in a cold part of the world!

One of my favorite trees which I grew in a cold Zone 5 surviving blizzards and nor'easters and salt air. Also, easy to raise from seed in an outdoor cold frame. Harvest ripe seed in fall and plant right away in cold frame. Water well. Seedlings emerge in late spring, with strong growth. I left them in place through several summers before potting.

Good tips. The one I brought home is gorgeous. It's about 4'. The chap at the garden centre claimed that it grew 18" + over the spring/summer this year...

Check this baby out!

The foliage is gorgeous on these trees. I don't know if I'll be able to keep them that healthy looking once in the ground...

Plant immediately - in a spot that can accommodate a small tree of 15-35 ft. - and mulch well. Because USDA 5 is one zone too cold for routine fall planting. In addition to any possible summer heat issues a sunny wall will worsen winter cold exposure by mazimizing the possibility of the sun playing on the tree while it is frozen - much cold damage to woody plants is associated with frozen plant cells thawing too rapidly and bursting apart. Consistent with this and any other involved factors in subalpiine locations the colder north facing slopes are where most of the vegetation is concentrated. With sunny aspects being much less occupied.

We are still in the upper 70s/low 80s, although nights have been getting much cooler.