They may germinate in another 2-3 months, but it could take another cycle of hot and cold before they sprout. Witch hazel is a very low maintenance plant, so your only other chore is pruning. Last modified The leaves of ‘Amethyst’ turn shades of yellow and orange in fall. Witch hazel plant tends to be largely pest free and disease resistant. 14 DIY Hanging Baskets to Display Your Floral Masterpieces, The 10 Best Herbs for Making Scented Candles, 112 Mason Jar Crafts That Will Spark a Creative Flair in You, 40 DIY Cat Toys Every Cat-Lover (and Their Cats) Will Adore, 22 DIY Birthday Card Ideas to Help You Be Festive on the Cheap, 24 Aloe Vera Recipes for Glorious Hair and Skin, 100 Unique and Effective Homemade Body Butter Recipes, 33 DIY Journal Ideas That Will Inspire You to Start Writing, 63 DIY Cloth Napkins for Your Next Dinner Party, 29 DIY Calendars to Keep Your Days and Months Organized, 74 Ugly Christmas Sweater Ideas So You Can Be Gaudy and Festive, 30 Unique DIY Rag Rug Designs So You Can Create Your Own, 34 Creative DIY Easter Basket Ideas for Every Age. Witch hazel rarely has pest or disease problems. Karen Zaworski is a garden writer and photographer who lives and gardens in Oak Park, Illinois. If you’d like to add winter interest to your garden, here’s a complete guide on how to grow and care for witch hazel plant. You can also use a cleanser formulated with witch hazel, like Meow Meow Tweet's Face Cleanser ($25). In milder regions, witch hazel can also be planted in the fall. Common witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) blooms from mid-October to early December. For now, feel free to continue reading. Vernal witch hazel may eventually attain a height of 10 feet. Look for H. vernalis 'Amethyst'. Witch hazel extract makes a great addition to toners, facial cleansers, and more. The fall foliage of ‘Autumn Embers’ varies from yellow to orange to burgundy red. Witch hazel, or Hamamelis virginiana, is a small, yellow-flowered, North American shrub containing a high level of tannins. Use adequate spacing to improve air circulation and eliminate crowding which encourages the disease.
There are also varieties native to Japan and China. 2150 Beardshear Hall Witch hazel prefers slightly acidic soil. Selecting varieties that are resistant to powdery mildew will limit the severity of the disease. Want to know more about witch hazel cultivars? Seeds normally take 18 months to 2 years to germinate in the wild. They would hold the branches parallel to the ground, and if the forked stick started pointing downwards, that indicated the presence of water. Two are native to North America and two to Asia. They have bright green leaves in spring, lovely fall foliage, and attractive winter blooms. Prevention is the best way to eliminate gall aphids. Plants are cold hardy but do best if they are protected from harsh winds.
The bugs will be drawn to witch hazel’s scent, but the sticky soap will trap them in the liquid. If you can’t find anything locally, some online plant stores will ship potted plants. Want to learn how to grow another winter blooming plant? Gently plant each shrub so that the top of the root ball is level with the ground and just covered with soil. Where helpful to the reader, some posts may contain links to products. 2005. At the end of three months, you can plant your seeds outside when temperatures reach 70-75°F. You may want to protect young plants with chicken wire until they have a chance to mature. Arnold Promise witch hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia 'Arnold Promise'). "The idea is to plant witch hazels against a background of dark evergreens or contrasting brick, so the clusters of flowers lining the bare branches are shown off to best effect.". Witch hazels perform best in moist, well-drained soils. ‘Autumn Embers’ (copper-red flowers, 8 to 10 feet tall), ‘Amethyst’ (reddish purple flowers, 6 to 8 feet tall), and ‘Carnea’ (burgundy red flowers, 6 to 8 feet tall) are attractive vernal witch hazel cultivars.
Illustration: Lane, Chris. Planting early spring bulbs (like snowdrops) around the base of witch hazel makes a very pretty picture in early spring.
At first glance, witch hazels hardly seem candidates for tests or trials, since, as a group, they are hardy, maintenance-free, and ignored by most pests.
23 Spectacular DIY Tree Toppers You Can Make Yourself! Leaf spots are usually caused by a fungus but some are caused by bacteria. At bud break, there is a tiny window when the overwintered insect emerges to feed and the only time insecticide is effective; making direct application a difficult method of control. Make sure the soil or sand stays damp (not soggy) the whole time. Leave space between the mulch and the trunk of your shrubs so that the bark doesn’t start to rot.
Without pruning, plants will grow 15-30 feet tall with a similar width. The aphid, through saliva injects a chemical into the plant that forms the narrow cone-shaped gall. Alone among the four major witch hazel species, Hamamelis japonica won't be found in our trials — while it's common on the mountainsides of Japan, it can't handle the extremes in Chicago-area weather. The witch hazel plant has a long history of use both as an ornamental shrub and a valuable medicinal plant. Vernal witch hazel (Hamamelis vernalis) and the intermedia witch hazels (hybrids resulting from crosses between Japanese and Chinese witch hazels) flower from early February to late March. Another ornamental feature of witch hazels is their fall leaf color. For native plant aficionados, our North American native witch hazel, Hamamelis virginiana, is also trialed, along with five of its cultivars. All rights reserved. Remove infected leaves from the plant and surrounding area to remove fungal spores. Native shrubs are most often found in wooded areas along the east coast of North America, from Canada to Georgia. The easiest is by growing it as a several year old potted shrub, but you can also try your hand at starting it from seed (if you have a lot of patience). While most trees and shrubs bloom in spring or summer, witch hazels are a notable exception. Take your seeds and place them in a container or plastic bag with a soilless growing mix or another medium like sand. They aren’t completely deer resistant, but these large pests usually eat them only as a last resort. These hybrids are changing the outdated perception of witch hazels as twiggy, non-landscape-worthy shrubs, with more flower colors (orange, red, pink, and purple, plus a whole spectrum of yellows), more compact/home-appropriate sizes, and a crazy quilt of fall foliage color options. There are a few ways to grow witch hazel. There are four main species of witch hazel commonly grown as landscape plants. When the spots combine they can form larger blotches and cause the leaf to turn yellow and drop. Also, keep in mind that it will take about 6 years for witch hazel started from seed to grow to a large enough size to flower. The best way to do this is to keep it in a warm shed during the summer, but you can also use a heater.
The shrubs like moist but well-drained soil. You’ll also need to prune dead and crossing branches off each year to keep plants healthy. They can be grown in full sun to part shade. The gall, which is pale green, is unsightly but rarely a serious threat to the health of the plant.
If yours is on the alkaline side, there are some ways to make your soil more acidic like adding peat moss or an acidic fertilizer. Witch hazel flowers. It flowers during the winter, something very rare, and provides great fall color with yellow, red, or orange leaves. Wet leaves will promote leaf spot growth. This hardy plant grows across a wide range in the United States and fortunately suffers from few disease and pest problems. Limit fertilizer. The autumn foliage of ‘Diane’ consists of shades of yellow, orange, and red. Whatever type of witch hazel you choose to grow, plants will put out bright green leaves in the spring that turn yellow, red, or orange in the fall. In severe cases, application of fungicide, such as Tebuconazole or Myclobutanil, would be an appropriate treatment. The properties of the bark can also be extracted using alcohol or steam distillation to make witch hazel extract, popularly used in all kinds of skincare products. The large, rounded, dark green leaves often hang onto the winter branches. Witch hazel can be grown in USDA hardiness zones 3-8, but cold tolerance depends on variety. Links to this article are strongly encouraged, and this article may be republished without further permission if published as written and if credit is given to the author, Horticulture and Home Pest News, and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. Whether you think of them as small trees or large shrubs, they are manageably sized, topping out at 10 to 20 feet, with some spreading forms nearly as wide. "Witch hazel is an astringent with anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties so it can effectively be used as a cleanser," explains Engelman.