Hamamelis vernalis - Vernal Witch Hazel

While other witch hazels are best utilized as small specimen trees in the landscape, Vernal witch hazel (Hamamelis vernalis) functions best as a large border shrub. This is due to its suckering (nonaggressive) growth habit via stolons and its wide spreading crown. Still like other witch hazels , Vernal witch hazel is greatly underutilized in gardens and landscapes. It's incredibly adaptable to a wide range of conditions lending itself to be a durable and reliable choice where bordering and/or screening is desired.

Of course, it would be amiss to not extoll its ornamental virtues. Vernal witch hazel brings a natural, relaxed look to a space. It's fall color is a reliable and brilliant yellow-gold. Most uniquely, perhaps, is its flowering aspects. This is among our first trees, native or exotic, to flower each year. Orange-yellow to yellow flowers with red centers appear between February and March before foliage emerges. This is definitely a welcome pop of color among the gray days of late winter. Unlike magnolias, these flowers are tolerant of frosts by curling up during colder nights and reopening when it warms up again.

Vernal witch hazel has a more limited native range than Common witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), only growing in a few states in the Ozark region of the country. In this region, it's found growing in similar conditions as Common witch hazel in the understory of forests and woodlands. While it thrives in part sun/shade, and is even tolerant of full shade (less than 4 hours), it also grows well in full sun. Flowering is most robust when planted in full sun. Despite its more southernly range, Vernal witch hazel is incredibly adaptable and grows well in colder northern states. Vernal witch hazel thrives in most soil types, including heavy clay. It grows well in wet soils, far better than other witch hazels, making it an alternative choice to shrub willows for wetter spots in the landscape.

In addition to bordering and screening, Vernal witch hazel is a great plant for erosion control due to its suckering habit.

This species is an important part of forests and woodlands of the Ozark region, being a host plant for dozens of species of pollinator larvae, including the host specific Witch hazel dagger moth. The flowers are an early source of nectar and pollen for many species of insects, including overwintering queen bumblebees who will soon start building nests and laying their eggs. Despite its more limited range in the wild, Vernal witch hazel is still an ecologically functional plant when planted in gardens and landscapes in Pennsylvania.

The witch hazel found in lotions and creams originates from processing compounds in the bark and leaves of Common witch hazel, a practice European settlers learned from Indigenous Americans in the eastern United States. These compounds can also be found in Vernal witch hazel.

If deer are a problem for you, we recommend you provide your tree with protection, such as a metal cage, until the tree is large enough to not be severely damaged. 

Written by Plumline staff and not AI.