RHS Journals
The Garden
January 2007
Bewitched and bedazzled
For scent and sheer floral spectacle, no other winter-blooming plants compare with witch hazels. Phil Clayton visited Hamamelis expert Chris Lane to learn more
Image: Tim Sandall
Which witch hazel?
Red numbers in the text refer to these cultivars of Hamamelis:
1 Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Barmstedt Gold’ AGM
2 H. x intermedia ‘Aphrodite’ AGM
3 H. mollis ‘Wisley Supreme’
4 H. x intermedia ‘Aurora’ AGM
5 H. x intermedia ‘Livia’
6 H. x intermedia ‘Sunburst’
7 H. x intermedia ‘Rubin’
8 H. x intermedia ‘Arnold Promise’ AGM
9 H. x intermedia ‘Harry’
10 H. x intermedia ‘Jelena’ AGM
11 H. mollis ‘Jermyns Gold’ AGM
12 H. x intermedia ‘Frederic’
13 H. x intermedia ‘Diane’ AGM
14 H. x intermedia ‘Pallida’ AGM
15 H. x intermedia ‘Angelly’ AGM
16 H. x intermedia ‘Vesna’ AGM
17 H. mollis ‘Imperialis’
18 H. x intermedia ‘Robert’
The cultivars marked AGM are those which received an Award of Garden Merit after the Assessment
Imagine the bitter chill of an icy January morning, long-fallen oak leaves frozen solid in puddles on the path, the kind of morning when spring seems far off. Bare branches sparkle with frost, rhododendron leaves are rolled in the cold. Then, you encounter a magical sight. Spotlit by a shaft of frigid sunshine, a large, leafless shrub blazes with yellow fire, its spidery flowers flickering up the branches like wisps of sulphur flame. The whole scene appears to radiate warmth. And then there is the scent: an entrancing zesty, citrus-like perfume. Winter’s spell is broken, broken by a winsome witch hazel: sublime Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Pallida’ 14.
As well as breaking spells, witch hazels may cast them - as nurseryman and National Plant Collection holder Chris Lane can attest. During the cold winter of 1978-79, while working at Hadlow College in Kent, he was astonished how well the flowers of hamamelis withstood cold, surviving unblemished temperatures as low as -18°c. ‘They would all be scrunched up early in the morning, but as temperatures rose to near freezing the flowers unfurled again. What else would survive this?’ He decided to collect and plant as many as he could get, finding perhaps 10 cultivars; tantalisingly, The Hillier Manual of Trees and Shrubs listed more. He was by now spellbound.
Through contacts such as the late John Bond of the Savill Garden near Windsor, he managed to acquire more plants, and in 1990 he visited Arboretum Kalmthout in Belgium and befriended the owners, the late Robert and Jelena de Belder, raisers of some of the finest witch hazel cultivars. Soon his collection swelled to more than 50. Growers from Germany and the USA then got to hear of Chris’ interest and accordingly more plants were added. ‘Once people know that you are serious about a plant, they end up coming to you - for example, I’ve just had interesting material sent to me from America of a large-leaved plant found near New Orleans.’ The collection grew further, and in 1985 it moved from Hadlow to Chris’ home and nursery near Sittingbourne, Kent. Today he grows more than 250 different examples; of these 128 are named cultivars, which many gardeners will find surprising, as few would be able to name more than a handful. It was at Chris’ nursery that the RHS Woody Plant Trials Sub-Committee assessed witch hazels, 10 receiving an Award of Garden Merit (AGM).
Yellow-flowered witch hazels
Hamamelis mollis remains the classic witch hazel with its scented yellow flowers, but is not as easy as many of the hybrids. ‘It is susceptible to spring frost damage as a young plant, and if it gets dry in summer the leaves become scorched.’ The first named H. x intermedia cultivar (a cross between H. japonica and H. mollis) arose in the Arnold Arboretum in the US in 1929. Named H. x intermedia ‘Arnold Promise’ 8, it is popular today with smallish, well-scented flowers.
Choosing his favourite selections is a challenge for Chris. ‘I can easily get 10 cultivars into my top five,’ he says, but he has no problem with his first choice of the yellows. ‘If you only have room for one, H. x intermedia ‘Pallida’ remains the best of all.’ It is highly floriferous, its sulphur-yellow blooms have a lovely ‘citrusy’ perfume, it proves easy to grow, and it is freely available - virtues confirmed by the RHS Assessment. The leaves also turn butter-yellow before falling.
Another selection offered quite widely is H. x intermedia ‘Barmstedt Gold’ 1. This has flowers of a richer hue, which Chris describes as ‘golden-yellow’. The blooms appear over a long season and it is still one of the best, although there are now cultivars Chris feels are as good.
High on his list is H. x intermedia ‘Angelly’ 15, a Dutch selection of compact habit, reaching little more than 2m (6.5ft) high, making this an ideal plant for smaller gardens. It has scented, bright yellow flowers but can be tricky to establish initially. From the same stable is one of Chris’ favourites, H. x intermedia ‘Aurora’ 4. This desirable plant produces flowers with the longest petals of any witch hazel. Its spidery blooms are pale yellow towards the tips but are a warm orange at the base, giving a delightful, almost two-tone effect. To add to its virtues, the flowers prove well scented and plants have notable fiery autumn colour.
From rather closer to home comes H. mollis ‘Wisley Supreme’ 3. This fine selection had grown at RHS Garden Wisley for years but went unnoticed until after the 1990 gales. It may have been planted by Francis Hanger, a past curator, from seedlings raised at Exbury Gardens in Hampshire. All but forgotten, the plant was partly smashed by a falling tree - but when it grew up again, Chris and fellow plantsman Chris Sanders, together with Curator Jim Gardiner, realised what a delightful plant it is, with its pale yellow, perfumed blooms opening early, often in time for Christmas and lasting well into the New Year.
A final free-flowering yellow selection that Chris admires is H. x intermedia ‘Ripe Corn’. The only downside is its habit of hanging onto old leaves as the flowers open. This trait occurs in some other cultivars and is usually frowned upon by growers, and was seen as a negative point in the RHS Assessment - none of the AGM winners hold old leaves. When Chris selects his own seedlings, he discards after three years any that retain leaves, although a mild autumn followed by a sudden frost can make more leaves hang on to branches. Fortunately, as with H. x intermedia ‘Ripe Corn’, older plants often grow out of the habit.
Oranges and reds
The most widely-cultivated orange witch hazel is H. x intermedia ‘Jelena’ 10, named after Jelena de Belder more than 50 years ago. It is a fine plant with beautiful, sadly poorly-scented, coppery blooms that ‘look as though you can warm your hands on them,’ says Chris. Plants also have rich autumn colour, although shrubs are inclined to become ‘gangly’. Also recommended is H. x intermedia ‘Orange Beauty’ with its deep golden-yellow blooms of good scent.
Recent developments have widened the range of orange-flowered selections considerably. Aptly named after Robert de Belder, H. x intermedia ‘Robert’ 18 has flowers of deep golden-yellow, edging towards pale orange. They also have scent, and plants produce good autumn colour. Chris describes H. x intermedia ‘Aphrodite’ 2 as a ‘first-rate plant, a good doer’ (you know you are on to something when a plantsman says that). It is particularly floriferous, the sweetly-scented blooms orange-yellow, deepening in hue at the base, borne on spreading branches.
For pale orange flowers, Chris recommends H. x intermedia ‘Glowing Embers’. ‘This selection can be a challenge to establish, but it is worth the trouble.’ Its flowers are large and lightly scented, petals yellowish at the tips but reddening towards the base. The shrub has a wide-spreading habit. Providing sheer flower power is H. x intermedia ‘Harry’ 9. This selection, again, needs care to establish, but is perhaps the most spectacular of all, with flowers of brightest orange carried in profusion on a compact shrub. ‘It’s almost all too much,’ says Chris.
One final orange he recommends is H. x intermedia ‘Orange Peel’. This is a vigorous, easy plant, with blooms of warm orange and good autumn colour.
The most widely grown red-flowered witch hazel is H. x intermedia ‘Diane’ 13. Its sultry red blooms produce little scent and it needs careful positioning, ideally so the sun shines through its petals and, when orange and yellow cultivars are around, to provide what can be dramatic contrast. On its own, it simply recedes into the gloom. This is the case with all red witch hazels. Chris feels more-recent H. x intermedia ‘Rubin’ 7 has much to offer. Its flowers are a good red, slightly smaller than ‘Diane’, but retain their red colouring for longer.
A peculiarity of orange and red witch hazels is that they may produce some yellow flowers out of season in autumn if they get stressed (perhaps by going short of water) in the growing season.
Planting partners
One of the joys of growing witch hazels is the combinations that can be achieved with other winter-interest plants. Well I remember a plant of H. x intermedia ‘Pallida’ that grew in the Wild Garden at Wisley, where it was underplanted with Galanthus ‘Magnet’, an excellent garden snowdrop. The two made a gloriously simple partnership. Other good bulbous partners include early crocus and winter aconites. Arum italicum subsp. italicum ‘Marmoratum’, hellebores, Bergenia (especially selections with leaves that colour up in winter) are all good subjects for underplanting.
Witch hazels also tone in perfectly with many coloured-stem plants that greatly enliven our gardens at this time, such as various Cornus, Salix and Rubus.
Other attractions
As mentioned, some witch hazels have fine autumn colour. One of the best is H. vernalis ‘Autumn Embers’ with reliably fiery foliage in autumn but, as Chris explains, its flowers are of little interest. Better to choose a plant with both good flowers and autumn tints. He rates H. x intermedia ‘Vesna’ 16 highly, and it received an AGM. The original plant of this grows at Kalmthout, where it was initially overlooked, but it is now clear this is an outstanding plant, with good, pale orange flowers.
Then there is H. virginiana that flowers in autumn. It is surprising to catch a waft of witch hazel scent as leaves fall, although finding flowers amid foliage is not easy, but developments may soon change this. ‘Recently, hybrids have been created between H. virginiana and H. vernalis, so eventually I see a race
of fine autumn-flowering witch hazels becoming available. We can then enjoy these plants from November until March.’
So the charms of these plants continue to broaden, providing scent and both flower and foliage colour. For adding some winter magic to your garden, there has never been a better time to welcome in a witch hazel.
Growing hamamelis
Choosing a position
It is often said witch hazels need acidic soil, but Chris Lane is happy to dispel this myth. Plants will grow on most soils except shallow chalk; alkaline soil is usually fine. On heavy clay soils, plants are best mound-planted as the planting hole acts as a sump in wet periods. Waterlogging in winter is a common cause of plant loss.
A widely held misconception is that witch hazels need shade. All the plants in Chris’ National Plant Collection are in the open - they do not have overhead shade - but hot, dry corners should be avoided.
Planting and aftercare
When planting witch hazels, Chris advises not to incorporate organic matter into the soil. He finds plants establish better without.
Drying out in summer is a problem: plants soon suffer, with leaves scorching easily. On most soils, especially those that are dry and sandy, mulch with organic matter to help retain moisture.
Although seldom advised in textbooks, Chris prunes his plants, keeping them compact and floriferous.
Plants can also be grown in pots. While this is not ideal, young plants can certainly be enjoyed this way. Plants must have a cool root-run in summer, so repot them regularly, and move to a spot out of hot sunshine in summer when not in flower.
Further reading
Witch Hazels (RHS Plant Collector Guide), by Christopher Lane, Timber Press, 2005, £25, ISBN 9780881926781.
View the Wisley Bookshop Online
Thanks to
Witch Hazel Nurseries, Callaways Lane, Newington, Sittingborne, Kent ME9 7LU. Tel: 01795 843098.
The nursery and National Plant Collection is only open on designated open days, when plants are available for purchase.
Phil Clayton is Features Development Editor of The Garden
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