Underutilized Landscape Plants: Fall Blooming Common Witch Hazel

Check out Hamamelis virginiana, also called fall witch hazel. This native is an extremely adaptable addition to our landscape palette. Our native witch hazel is found throughout the eastern half of the U.S. from Minnesota to Maine, on down to Florida, and over to Texas. That is one tough plant!

It grows best in rich, moist, well-drained soils, but I have found it thriving in shale soil along a county road in full sun, and as understory along streams. Typically, it is found in slightly acidic soils but has shown tolerance to a range of pH and salt levels. Since it normally grows in the understory, I often use it in shaded areas where the roots can be kept cool and moist. Even in the dappled shade, it blooms well and thrives.

Witch hazel is often found as a multi-stemmed, 20-25 feet high, 15-20 feet wide, irregularly shaped shrub. Its foliage is alternate and has large, wavy, toothed margins. In fall, the leaves turn a clear yellow. But the most fun characteristic of the fall-blooming witch hazel is the spidery, 1-inch yellow flowers that bloom in great profusion from late October to November. The length and timing of bloom are dependent on the amount of sun and the microclimate. Some people also enjoy the spicy fragrance of the flowers, but to be honest, I have never been able to detect it.

While the Asiatic hybrids have beautiful spring blooms and a variety of flower colors, I enjoy the cheery yellow fall blooms of the native witch hazel. The fall witch hazel is also hardy to zone 3, while the hybrids are hardy to zone 5. As an added inducement, this adaptable plant has no serious disease or pest problems and feeds a variety of birds and the larvae of the spring azure butterfly.

In shady landscape beds, I like to underplant with Uvularia grandiflora (merrybells), Mertensia virginica (Virginia bluebells), Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern), native carex, and Aster divaricatus (white wood aster). The Mt. Cuba Center recommends combining with Rhododendron periclymenoides (pinxterbloom azalea) and Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel) for an arrangement with both spring and fall flowers.

Sources: The Mt. Cuba Center, 'Common Witch Hazel'