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Imagine the amazement of the early settlers to North America when they first saw the remarkable spidery flowers of the witch hazel appearing on bare stems in autumn.
The tree reminded them of the hazel trees of home, but the spidery flowers were quite different to the catkins of the familiar hazel.
It is not surprising that the name witch hazel was bestowed on this seemingly magical plant, the flowers appearing when most plants are shutting down for winter.
Other species of witch hazel, or hamamelis to give its botanical name, exist in China and Japan.
The Japanese witch hazel and the Chinese witch hazel have larger, more plentiful petals.
These species have been hybridised to create Hamamelis x intermedia and most of the garden varieties come from that cross.
The flower petals are narrow strips, twisted and rolled back.
Each flower has four petals and the flowers are carried in small clusters, the petals intertwining to make a rounded boss of colour.
It is a lively flowering, not only because of the season, but because of the exuberance of the flowers, their bright colour and seeming indestructibility.
Hardy
Despite snow and ice, and lots of rain, witch hazel rarely gets delayed from its mid- to late-winter flowering.
The flowers may be encrusted with ice and still remain intact after the ice melts.
However, freezing and thawing repeatedly, and the passage of strong winds, can weaken the petals and shorten their life, which is usually up to four weeks from the time the first flowers open.
The flowers are very fragrant, so much so that the sweet perfume can often be detected before the plant is seen.
Witch hazel is often sold as a shrub, but it’s really a small tree that can grow to between three and five metres tall and across.
It has a very elegant shape, the branches rising away at a soaring angle from the main stem.
The main stem, or few stems, is usually quite short and the tree branches quite close to the ground.
The mature tree needs adequate space to look its best. It looks awful when cramped by large shrubs or trees.
The flowers are nicely set off by low winter sunshine and a dark backdrop makes them stand out.
Witch hazel should have low perennials, such as epimedium, hellebores, omphalodes and spring bulbs, as a ground layer underneath to set off its shape.
Witch hazel is most impressive when planted as single specimens, as they compete with each other when planted too close.
Varieties
The most common and popular variety is Pallida with pale-yellow flowers.
Arnold Promise is smallish and carries lots of deep-yellow flowers. Westerstede is late flowering with yellow flowers.
Diane as deep-red flowers and Jelena is coppery orange. These are all well-established varieties, but there are lots of others and new, named kinds are constantly being selected.
Sunburst is very floriferous, with masses of sunny light-yellow flower tufts. Orange Peel is aptly named for its orange flowers.
Glowing Embers is similar ,but has a flush of purple at the base of the drooping petals. Ruby Glow has petals of light purple-wine and Harlow Carr is a nice, bright yellow.
But go and see if you can find them in flower, choosing the colour you like.
Witch hazel is easy to grow, but it does not like limy soil and needs neutral or slightly acid conditions.
If the soil is limy, it could be prepared by digging in large quantities of rotted leaf mould or peat. Plant the young plant in flower if you wish.
Prune bush roses now
This is the time to prune rose bushes, not later on when they have made lots of new growth.
There is a very slight chance of frost damage in pruning this early, but even if it does occur, it usually only affects the tips of some new leaves and the rose bushes grow out of it very quickly.
Early pruning promotes early flowering the following summer, a considerable advantage, and it means the job can be done at a time of year when there is not as much pressure on time in the garden.
Besides, pruning leaves the bushes looking neat and tidy. Repeat-flowering climbers can be pruned now too.
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