witch hazel
Hamamelis virginiana
MBG Plant of Merit 2018
USDA zones3 to 8
SunHandles full sun to full shade
WaterHandles dry to moist soil
Size15 to 20 feet tall15 to 20 feet wide
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Habit
- Tree
- Bloom season
- Autumn, winter
- Bloom color
- Yellow sometimes tinged with orange or red
- Foliage color
- Green
- Soil types
- Sand, loam, clay, chalk
- Soil pH
- Acid, neutral
Garden uses
Attracts
Notes
Witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is a shrub for specimen planting, woodland gardens, winter interest, and borders. It is hardy to USDA zone 3, or down to -40°F (-40°C). This plant likes full sun to full shade and dry to moist soil of most types. Fragrant yellow flowers with crumpled, strap-like petals appear in fall and last after the leaves drop. It is not a favorite of deer, though hungry deer will eat almost anything. Full sun gives a fuller, more symmetrical shape.
Pairs well with Red twig dogwood, Christmas fern, and Little bluestem.
Native range
Eastern North America.