Wildflower Wednesday: Hamamelis virginiana

Today I am thankful for family, friends and my wildflower garden. I am thankful for time I spend outdoors, for the critters that live and visit my garden, for the last blooming flowers and for the gnats, flies, moths and bees that are out and about on warm days. 

 I am grateful for all of you who read my Wildflower Wednesday posts and don't mind that I am posting this one on Thanksgiving Day instead of on the fourth Wednesday! 

unfurled crepe papery petals on a very warm November afternoon. 

Today, I celebrate Hamamelis virginiana our Wildflower Wednesday star. Witch-hazel is a fall flowering understory tree with sweetly fragrant small yellow flowers. It is native to woodlands, forest margins and stream banks in eastern North America (including OK and TX)  where it's found growing in moist well drained soil in sunny to partial shade conditions.

That's where it's found in natureand it's a darn shame that it is overlooked by most nurseries in favor of selling the flashier non-native witch-hazels. Dear readers, step away from those Chinese witch-hazels and ask for Hamamelis virginiana! You won't be disappointed and that's a promise.* If you can't find it locally there are good online nurseries that sell seedlings.

Hamamelis virginiana starts blooming in October at Clay and Limestone and blooms for at least a month. In outstanding weather you can expect to find a few flowers in early December! Every branch is covered with fragrant spidery crepe paper flowers that never fail to charm as they furl on cold days and unfurl on warm ones!

 

 

I can't imagine gardening without a few witch hazels trees in my garden. On warm days its honey scent wafts around the garden on the slightest breeze.

 

It's growing in a small woodland garden beneath the swaying branches of a shagbark hickory and The Dancing Tree/Ostrya virginiana that I rescued from the strangling wisteria when we first moved here. It's perfect for woodland gardens and generously shares the ground beneath with woodland favorites like Christmas ferns, wild ginger, Phacelia bipinnatifida, Trilliums, Dutchman's Breeches and other spring ephemerals.

 

 I love the  textured deep green leaves that turn a golden yellow in the fall.  Sometimes the flowers bloom before the leaves drop and the stem-hugging clusters of bright yellow flowers are hidden.

Pollinator visiting the last blooms of the year

But, that gives me an opportunity to get a close look at each flower and at any pollinators who happen to stop by for a bit of nectar.  Witch-hazel is also known to attract robins, juncos, titmice and cardinals. I love having a tree with pretty flowers, a sweet scent and  with good wildlife value.

stem-huggin

 H virginiana is a great all around small tree/shrub for most gardens. Those of you who garden for wildlife might consider planting it for the good wildlife value it adds to a shady garden.

In case you are still thinking non-native because it's easy to find. Check this list out!

• A tough, adaptable plant suitable for a variety of garden settings (Hardiness Zones: 4-9)
• Tolerates clay soil and poor drainage  
• Since it's often the last blooming plant found in most woodlands it's invaluable for providing nectar to late visiting pollinators
• It's upright spreading branches are good nesting sites for birds. 
• Some moth caterpillars predate on it
• The dispersed seeds are eaten by birds and small rodents. Now don't turn your nose up at the mere mention of rodents, yes, they are pesty, but, they are also extremely important critters for hungry owls and hawks.
• Lovely fragrant, bright yellow flowers that bloom from October through November.
• Great fall foliage color 
• It's native to eastern North American, including Louisiana and Texas. 

Except for a few native ex-aster that might have survived a killing frost, witch-hazel is probably the last blooming plant found in most woodlands.  I treasure it for providing one last stop for nectar gathering pollinators and for all those characteristic listed above. It's a wonderful specimen plant, but because it colonizes, it does make a wonderful screening plant or hedge. Spring ephemerals, native sedges, ferns and shade tolerant perennials are great companions.

fruit and exploded seed capsule

 

Ooh, ooh, ooh~One more cool factoid!  The seeds are expelled with a loud pop that sends them yards away from the parent plant. I've been looking for offspring but, so far none. The seeds must be tasty to my garden critters. 

 The Particulars:

Botanical name: Hamamelis virginiana

Common Name: common witch hazel  

Type: Deciduous shrub 

Family: Hamamelidaceae 

Native Range: Eastern North America 

Zone: 3 to 8

 Height: 15.00 to 20.00 feet 

Spread: 15.00 to 20.00 feet 

Bloom Time: October to December 

Bloom Description: Golden yellow centers tinged a light red

Sun: Full sun to part shade 

Water: Medium 

Maintenance: Low Suggested

Cultivation: Light shade to partial sun, mesic conditions, and sandy or loamy soil. More flowers are produced in response to greater amounts of sunlight. 

Comments: Useful as a hedge, let it naturalize in a woodland garden, useful in a rain garden and it has lovely fall color.

Wildlife value: Birds, pollinators and mammals (Illinois Wildflowers to see moth table)

Tolerate: Deer, Erosion, Clay Soil

 

How any one could think this tree unlovely or unworthy of a place in their garden is beyond my understanding! The crepe papery blooms look especially enchanting with a backdrop of golden Shagbark hickory and Hophornbeam leaves and the Autumn blue sky!

 

For those of you celebrating Thanksgiving...I wish you a joy filled day with loved ones and calorie free foods!

Warmest thoughts of you.

xoxoGail

*If you want this lovely tree you'll need to check with a native plant nursery. We are fortunate that we have several native plant nurseries not too far away that carry beautiful native trees, shrubs and perennials. Check with Joy at Wonder Gifts and Gardens and Terri at GroWild 

Welcome to Clay and Limestone's Wildflower Wednesday celebration. I am so glad you stopped by. WW is about sharing and celebrating wildflowers from all over this great big, beautiful world. Join us on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Remember, it doesn't matter if they are in bloom or not; and, it doesn't matter if we all share the same plants. It's all about celebrating wildflowers.

 

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener, Tennessee Naturalist and nature writer in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.