Plant of the Week: Witch Hazel

• Light Requirements: Full to part sun, best flowering in full sun locations.
• Water Requirements: Prefers moist but well draining soil.
• Characteristics: Witch hazels grow 8 to 20 feet depending on the cultivar. Fragrant ribbon shaped flowers in yellow to orange to red appear along the branches in winter or early spring. Fall leaf color is yellow to red depending on the cultivar.
• Uses: The somewhat zigzagging branches offer interesting form as a specimen plant, and its upright nature lends itself to an opportunity for under-planting with bulbs or small perennials. It is a valuable shrub for a naturalized border or in a woodland, wildlife or winter garden.  Flowers are pollinated by nocturnal moths. Wild turkeys eat the seeds and small mammals and birds eat the fruit.
• Interesting Facts: Witch hazel has several medicinal properties including use as an astringent and an anti-inflammatory. In fact, it is one of the very few American medicinal plants approved as an ingredient in non-prescription drugs by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The common name refers to the use of the forked twigs for “water-witching” or as divining rods to locate water sources.

Varieties:

• Hamamelis virginiana is the common witch hazel. It is native to eastern North America and is found along stream banks from Canada to Mexico and can tolerate clay soils.  The common witch hazel is noted yellow, slightly fragrant flowers which open from October through December. Fall foliage is a bright yellow.
• Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Arnold’s Promise’ is a cross between the chinese and japanese varieties. It is an upright, vase shaped variety noted for its sweetly fragrant yellow flowers that bloom later than other cultivars, February to March.
• Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Diane’ is a cross between the chinese and japanese varieties. It grows 8 to 12 feet and is noted for its coppery red blooms from January to March. The foliage turns attractive shades of yellow, orange and red in fall.