With spring on the horizon, flowers are beginning to bloom at Wellfield. One of the first blooms of the growing season is the flower of the witch hazel (Hamamelis spp.). This deciduous shrub is featured in the Spring Garden as well as in the English Cottage Garden and Sensory Garden. We have 3 varieties of Hamamelis intermedia that are a cross of the Japanese and Chinese witch hazel, and one Hamamelis vernalis; these varieties can spread upwards of 15 feet, tend to be wide spreading and do not bloom well with crowding. Most witch hazel prefers zones 4-8 and can tolerate full sun to partial shade. Witch hazel requires a good amount of water in the soil or else it can develop leaf scorch, which is a browning of the leaves that can be a result of a variety of environmental stress factors including drought and high temperatures. Because of this, it is important to plant this shrub in areas that get a good amount of saturation, or a spot that can be easily watered. There are multiple species of witch hazel throughout the gardens, resulting in plenty of early blooms to come in and see!
The witch hazel hybrids in the Spring Garden tend to bloom in late winter in the months of February and March, but we have seen them bloom as early as January. The flowers on the witch hazel can vary in color from orange to yellow to red. These unique flowers are spider-like with thin petals and are about 1 inch in size. Blooms of the witch hazel provide great winter interest for the plant, and the leaves create great fall interest as well. The leaves turn eye-catching yellows, oranges and reds in the fall, depending on the cultivar.
Witch hazel is an understory plant and can be a sign of rich and wet soils where it occurs naturally. The hybrids of this shrub are often planted in place of the native due to a combination of reasons including better aesthetics and structure, as well as blooms and survivability.Â
A cultivar in our Spring Garden is Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Jelena’, which is prized for its bright, attention-grabbing orange to red flowers.
Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Arnold Promise’ is another witch hazel featured in our Spring Garden and is one of two varieties in our collection that showcase yellow blooms.
The last witch hazel featured in the Spring Garden is Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Luna’. This yellow blooming variety was the last witch hazel to begin to bloom in the gardens.
[caption id="attachment_29738" align="aligncenter" width="640"]Â Picture above are the unique spider-like flowers of the Hamamelis vernalis featured in English Cottage Garden, February 2025.[/caption]
Hamamelis vernalis, or Ozark witch hazel, is native to the southern and central parts of the United States. This variety is featured in our Sensory Garden as well as the English Cottage Garden. H. vernalis was the first to bloom in late February and is still putting on a show in March. Come out to Wellfield Botanic Gardens and see these early bloomers before their annual show ends!
Ariana Guerrero
Horticulturist
