Shrubs flowering outdoors in mid-winter are scarcely the usual thing in our gardens, and this small group holds great value for the colder parts of the country. One of the best winter-blooming subjects is Chinese witch hazel (Hamamelis Mollis).
This hardy shrub is outstanding for the brilliant, rich effect of its yellow-petalled reddish-centered flowers, which enliven an outdoor garden picture on a wintry day in February, as well as for the spicy fragrance of the silken blooms.
Once these amazing qualities have been noted, one can scarcely resist likely surveying corners around the garden to plant one or two specimens in early spring!
Fortunately, the shrub is being grown by several nurseries.
Training Chinese Witch Hazel
Chinese witch hazels develop into spreading shrubs or small trees, depending on early training. Concentrating the growth in a single trunk produces a definite tree-like habit, and such specimens may exceed 20′ feet in height.
On the other hand, plants allowed to grow naturally tend to produce two or three or often several stems from the ground.
These develop into a spreading framework of branches which may be counted on reaching 12′ or 15′ feet in height and fully as much in the spread.
These dimensions and habits of growth are not very different from our familiar native witch-hazels. However, the species of our eastern woodlands (Hamamelis virginiana) is smaller in most cases.
Both have the same distinguished pattern of larger branches, but the Chinese species are often noted to have markedly zigzag branchlets.
In foliage, however, Chinese witch-hazels differ quite conspicuously from other species. Their leaves are prominently roundish and felted with a thick grayish coating of hairs on the lower surface and a thinner covering above.
Other witch hazels have more or less hairiness, principally on the lower surface of the leaves, but none of the others has anything like the soft velvety leaves of this one from China.
Buds and shoots are likewise densely wooly-hairy. It is this velvety smoothness to which the specific name Mollis refers.
The Bloom Of This Shrub Comes In Midwinter
But various factors introduce some variation in the exact time and duration of the flowering period. Blooms may appear as early as January, though February and March are the more characteristic periods.
The flower buds in small clusters along the shoots develop during the previous spring and summer, with the same tight coating of hairs as the leaf buds.
A few flowers open at a time, expanding their bright yellow petals in the winter sunshine, and curling them inward during extreme weather.
Low temperatures do not injure the blooms unduly, and they open again during the first good weather. More and more flower buds open, and the bloom period may extend over 6 or 7 weeks.
These flowers are usually considered the showiest among the witch hazels. The ribbon-like petals are wider than other species, and the cup-like calyx, comprising the central portion of each flower, is a deep rich red inside.
Sometimes the petals are also reddish at the base, and the color effect is very pleasing. To this can be added the spicy fragrance of the blooms, most pronounced on warm sunny afternoons or when branches are cut and enjoyed indoors.
Fruits Of Witch Hazel
The fruits of witch hazels develop during the growing season and mature as woody capsules about half an inch long.
In the autumn, when the corky tips of the ripe capsules have weakened sufficiently, the two sides of each capsule spring apart.
From each, two shining black seeds are shot forward. sometimes for a distance of several feet. Landing among fallen leaves or on a patch of leaf mold.
Winter temperatures and moisture condition the seeds. In due time they are ready to germinate and start new plants under the protecting shadow of their parents, as it were.
With their rare beauty displayed sometime between January and April. Chinese witch hazels should be used where they will be seen and enjoyed during these austere months.
Remote corners and the back of borders are not the places for them unless one wishes to have surprises tucked away to be discovered on winter walks.
Giving such prizes a featured position, near a drive or walk, or even in foundation plantings around the house or garage is better.
Witch hazels are not particular about soil, but they make the best growth in fairly heavy loam with a generous amount of organic matter.
Holes for planting should be prepared deeply and carefully, with the subsoil discarded and replaced with decomposed compost or barnyard manure in the planting mixture.
Spring is the best season for planting, except for routine attention in the first year. These shrubs rarely require special care.
Discovery And History
The discovery and history of Chinese witch hazels in gardens have more than ordinary interest. A westerner first noted them in 1879 when Charles Marks discovered them near the Yangtze in Kiangsi Province.
Marks, a native of Stratford-on-Avon, was a nurseryman in the employ of the famous English firm of Veitch, and from 1877 through 1879, he collected seeds and plants in the Japanese islands, Formosa, and China’s Yang-Ise valley.
On his last trip, up the Yangtze as far as the famed Ichang gorges, Marks did not get along well with his native guides and porters.
Things went from bad to worse, and in the end, they stole his equipment and baggage, and he was forced to return to the coast. Nevertheless, Marks salvaged some things from the ruin of this expedition, and among these were seeds he had collected from new witch hazel.
Oddly enough, the plants raised from this packet of seeds were accorded no particular attention at the Veitch nursery at Coombe Wood. For several years, they were considered a variety of Japanese witch hazel.
Their merits and distinctions were finally recognized and described and named as a distinct species by botanist Oliver.
Japanese And American Witch Hazel
Japanese and American witch hazels are rather confusing in their variations and often difficult to tell apart.
However, there is no trouble identifying the Chinese family member due to the velvety hairiness which envelops leaves, shoots, buds, and fruits.
44659 by Ben Blackburn