Early spring HARBINGERS for your garden
Blame it on the roller-coaster weather, but the earliest harbingers of spring, such as witch hazels, snowdrops and snow crocus, couldn’t wait any longer for spring to arrive in earnest.
This week, it did my heart good to put on a spring jacket and head out to Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens to scout out the earliest spring blooms.
Witch hazel (Hamamelis)
Witch hazel (Hamamelis) are easily grown in average, medium-moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade; they will also accept clay soils with adequate drainage. The best flowering is in full sun. Witch hazels are said to be fragrant, although I’ve yet to catch their fragrance in the air. Any root suckers should be removed to prevent colonies from developing. To control shape and size, prune in the spring after the tree has flowered.
The name Hamamelis comes from the Greek words “hama” meaning “at the same time,” and “melon” meaning “apple” or “fruit,” in reference to the occurrence of both fruit and flowers at the same time on this shrub, according to the Missouri Botanical Garden website. Winter-flowering witch hazels are welcome additions to shrub borders or make interesting feature trees in smaller gardens.
Vernal witch hazel (Hamamelis vernalis), also known as the Ozark witch hazel, is native to Missouri and Arkansas and typically grows 1.8 metres tall with a rounded form. Flowers range in colour from yellow to a dark reddish purple and appear in late winter. Individual flowers have four narrow, straplike, crinkled petals in warm shades of copper-orange radiating from purplish-red calyx cups with cream centres.
Rounded, light green leaves with bronze tints appear in the spring. The fall colour is golden yellow. The fruit capsules split open in the autumn to release its seeds.
Arnold Promise witch hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia) offers an upright, vase-shaped form that will reach 3.5 metres tall and is noted for its fragrant flowers and later bloom cycle. Bright yellow flowers include the typical straplike, crinkled petals and a reddish-brown calyx cup. Broad, oval green leaves appear in the spring, followed by a yellow-orange fall colour. An introduction of the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, the plant received a Royal Horticultural Society of Great Britain Award of Garden Merit (1993).
Snow crocus (Crocus chrysanthus)
Snow crocuses are one of the earliest harbingers of spring. With delicate, cup-shaped flowers in shades of lavender, yellow, violet or white, and slender, grasslike foliage, snow crocuses reach a diminutive 10 centimetres tall and make ideal candidates to naturalize in lawns, grow in containers or add to rock gardens.
Each bulb can bear one to several blooms. The flowers feature bright orange stamens and act as mini weather barometers, opening when it’s bright or sunny and closing up when it’s cool, raining or at nightfall. While the flowers look delicate, they have been known to bloom right through the snow. They provide an early food source for bees and pollinators.
Snow crocuses are very hardy and are said to be deer- and rabbit-resistant. That being said, rabbits will nibble on the foliage, but will leave the bulb alone. These early bloomers are reportedly more resistant to mice, squirrels and other rodent damage than later-flowering crocus.
Once established, snow crocuses are drought-tolerant. They will self-seed and spread to form a colourful patch, but they are not considered invasive. Plant them in drifts for best effect, either beneath shrubs or trees, or in the lawn. When naturalized in the turf, allow the plants to grow for six weeks after they flower before cutting the grass.
For a long show of spring colour, pair snow crocus with early-blooming hellebores, primroses, winter aconites, snowdrops and dwarf iris in the garden.
Snow crocus should be planted in generous drifts in September or early October. Varieties include: Blue Pearl (silver-lavender), Cream Beauty, Early Gold, Firefly (pinklavender), Ruby Giant (purple with a white throat) and Snowbunting (white).
Snowdrops (Galanthus)
As the name implies, snowdrops are among the earliest flowering spring bulbs. Snowdrops prefer a woodland or partly shaded site and should be planted in drifts for best effect.
Reaching a diminutive 10 to 20 centimetre tall, with deep green leaves that remind me of miniature daffodil leaves, its pure white flowers hang like miniature pendant lamps from narrow, arching stems that break free from a protective sheath at bloom time.
Mount Everest is a taller variety (20 cm) with showy white flowers and a distinctive green marking on the inner petal. There are many varieties available — the English gardening magazines often include dreamy snowdrop features in the late winter. Locally, Flore Pleno is a pretty double variety, while Elwesii is a delicate single that naturalizes well.
Galanthus flower very early in the season and prefer a damp soil that is rich in nutrients. Plant them early, along with the snow crocus in late September or early October. They can be transplanted right after they finish blooming. Several years ago, I purchased several pots of snowdrops from the sale table (that had just finished blooming) and transplanted them to our son’s British Columbia garden. Each pot contained a cluster of bulbs and was easy to position in the garden because I could see where there was a spot that needed filling; they have bloomed reliably for several years now. If your home garden could use a boost of optimistic, early colour, you might give witch hazels, snowdrops and snow crocus a try.