Those are seed pods, not flower buds. Somehow you missed the flowering but extreme heat and full sun is not to its liking and that may account for the short and sparse bloom.

Thank you!

From your description and the photo, it seems like what you are seeing on your Stewartia are indeed seed pods rather than buds. After a Stewartia blooms, it typically develops seed pods that can look very similar to buds, especially in their early stages.

The hot summer in Boston might have influenced the bloom cycle of your Stewartia. Extreme temperatures can stress plants and cause them to go into a survival mode, prioritizing preservation over blooming. This might explain why your Stewartia skipped its usual flowering this year and went straight to seed production.

If you missed the bloom because of your timing away, it's also possible that the flowers were fewer and finished quickly, leading directly to the development of these pods. To support your tree, ensure it's well-watered during these hot periods and consider mulching to help retain soil moisture. This care might encourage more robust blooming next season.

" This might explain why your Stewartia skipped its usual flowering this year and went straight to seed production. "

Sorry, but that is just not possible!! There can be NO seed production without flowering. The flowering might have been short and it might have been sparse but it DID happen.

There indeed cannot be seed production without some form of flowering, as seeds are a product of the fertilization process which occurs post-flowering.

It's likely that the flowering period of the Stewartia was quite brief and perhaps not very prominent this year, leading to the impression that it might have skipped directly to seed production. Sometimes, environmental factors such as temperature or water stress might cause a plant to produce fewer or less noticeable flowers, which can sometimes be easy to miss.