Jelena, a popular cultivar of witch hazel, brings a much-needed splash of color and a sweet scent to the winter landscape.
Photo by L.A. Jackson
It’s cold, and springtime seems a long way off, meaning gardeners have to grit their chattering teeth and wait for better times in warmer climes. However, while having to endure such naturally frigid weather, maybe now is not a bad time to seek at least some seasonal comfort from a seemingly unnatural source: a witch.
Well, not a real witch, but rather witch hazel—a patient plant that waits for the chilliest times of the year to put on a delightfully unexpected show of floppy, ribbon-like flowers that have the added bonus of being fragrant, which is a big plus in any winter garden.
There are native witch hazels, with American witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) being most commonly found in the wilds of South Carolina. While this woody shrub can thrive in home gardens, its flowers are tiny sprites that could go unnoticed because they are usually in bloom during the foliage flame-fest of the fall leaf-drop season.
But leave it to professional plant breeders to conjure up better witches. They have been busy blending the best attributes of Chinese witch hazel (H. mollis)—a small tree (15 to 18 feet) with extremely fragrant yellow flower ribbons—with Japanese witch hazel (H. japonica)—a dazzler with yellow to rusty red blooms and flashy fall foliage that can range from yellow to red to purple. The resulting Hamamelis x intermedia clan has many cultivars that are fancy garden dancers quite able to brave the chill of January and February to put on unexpected but certainly welcomed flower shows for spring-starved gardeners.
Arnold’s Promise is perhaps the most popular (meaning the easiest to find at garden shops) H. x intermediaselection with its 1- to 1½-inch-long stringy, fragrant yellow blooms and rich orange-red autumn coloration, but there are other contenders for the crown. Jelena will also turn heads—and noses—in the winter garden with its sweetly scented, copper-red, dainty dangles. Diane has a similar look and sweet smell, but tends to be slightly more heat tolerant, making it a possible pick for Lowcountry gardens.
Usually growing to only a modest 10 to 15 feet tall and wide in the garden, H. x intermedia cultivars aren’t landscape space hogs. While being tough plants, they perform better in well-drained, rich, slightly acidic soil in moderately sunny locations, with some midday to afternoon shade allowance in gardens closer to the coast.
January in the garden
• Sizzling orange, blazing red, neon yellow—these are the bright colors to paint the handles of your garden tools now so they won’t be easily lost in the growing rush of lush garden and lawn greenery to come this spring.
• Overwintering garden friends on the wing will appreciate it if you continue to have the bird feeder well stocked through these chilly, barren times. Also, keep the bird bath free of ice during any extended cold spells and wash the bowl at least once a month.
Tip of the month
Keep the colors—and memories—of Christmas bright during the gray months of early winter by properly watering leftover yuletide plants such as Christmas cactus, poinsettia, Jerusalem cherry and amaryllis. Only irrigate when the upper half-inch of soil in the pots is dry. Also, these holiday pretties will show off longer if placed in an area suffused in bright, indirect sunlight, with the exception being Jerusalem cherry, which will benefit better in a window basking in the weak rays of the winter sun indoors for at least a few hours each day.
L.A. Jackson is the former editor of Carolina Gardener magazine. Contact him at lajackson1@gmail.com.