Alice Cross
Witch hazel starts blooming in February in Rhode Island.
Oh winter -- it's been awhile now since it lost its pleasures. The snow lingers on in dirty patches, and the grass, trees, and shrubs have not yet shown a hint of green. Only a few tiny, early-blooming bulbs such as snow drops and crocus show any promise of the warmth, color, and fragrances to come.
Well, that is not entirely true. The first true burst of the new season comes from the witch hazel (Hamamelis intermedia, japonica, or mollis, to distinguish it from the also lovely autumn-blooming shrub, Hamamelis virginiana). Before it leafs out in April, witch hazel provides a full month or more of tiny, streamer-like flowers, which certainly brighten the late winter landscape.
In 2012 and 2013, my own shrub was in full bloom by early February, though this hard winter delayed its flowering until February 25. The low, low temperatures have kept the flowers a bit tighter than usual, too, as if they are huddling close to the branches for shelter. But still it blooms and is a lovely, heartening sight.
The sunny yellow, classic cultivars are sometimes mistaken for eager forsythia. But this shrub is much less weedy than that omnipresent harbinger of spring, blooms at least 6 weeks earlier, and retains a lovely vase shape through the year. Often, it boasts a light, spicy fragrance, and is not limited to yellow. There are cultivars in red, orange, and bi-color combinations.
Witch hazel is about as carefree a shrub as you can find, requiring only sun, sandy, acidic soil (which we have aplenty in Rhode Island) and space enough to mature to its full size of 12-15 feet high and maybe 18 feet wide.
