Spidery splash
Chinese witch hazel’s unmistakable blooms are a sight to behold in January, writes David Overend.
Happy New Year, and – hopefully – for the majority it will be just that. So to start off 2021 in a bright and colourful mood, here’s Hamamelis mollis, also known as Chinese witch hazel, a species of flowering plant native to central and eastern China, but one which is quite happy to grow in an English garden – as long as it is provided with the correct conditions.
The Americans call it, not surprisingly, “winter bloom” and it wouldn’t be January without it. This lovely, late-flowering shrub is a joy to behold – yellow (there’s also red), spidery blooms on leafless branches make it one of the most eye-catching of plants at the darkest time of the year.
And if the flowers aren’t enough, there’s a hint of fragrance and the leaves also turn red and gold in autumn.
Witch hazel likes a sunny spot in a rich soil just a bit on the acidic side. Grow it in alkaline soil and it will sulk, producing very few of those outrageous flowers, so it is best to test the acidity/alkalinity of the site before actually planting the shrub.
It’s a slow-growing deciduous shrub that, if left to its own devices, could eventually grow to 10 feet or more and spread to the same extent, but it can be pruned, with care, to prevent it from becoming a nuisance. Most people prefer to leave it well alone.
One of the most popular named yellow varieties is Hamamelis x intermedia “Arnold Promise” (intermedia means intermediate in colour, form, or habit) which is a large shrub of open habit whose leaves turn reddish or yellow in autumn. Those fragrant bright yellow flowers can grow to be almost 3cm in size.
For those gardeners who aren’t overkeen with yellow, there are options, such as Hamamelis x intermedia “Diane”, a hybrid cross between H japonica and H mollis, which produces russet-coloured blooms.
Anyone fortunate enough to garden in a spot where the winters are relatively mild may have a chance of growing a more delicate variety, Hamamelis japonica. It’s not tough enough to handle extremes in cold weather so it’s less hardy than many cultivars. In its native Japan, the shrub’s pale yellow, red and purple flowers are prized in tea ceremonies.