Thursday, October 25, 2012

Hamamelis virginiana


Because this plant has been in this garden for decades, one might think I knew to expect its flowering every year. But that's not the case. I was in the garden this afternoon checking out another plant when the slightly pungent scent of the witch hazel flowers caught my attention. Then I looked around and saw it - and noticed that it was blooming freely. This yellow-flowered witch hazel is the plant on which our plant of Hamamelis 'Feuerzauber' is grafted. How the sprouts escaped my attention long enough to form a substantial flowering mass is a mystery to me. But now they are so handsome and so profuse that cutting them out is out of the question.

We are entering the time of year when what flowers there are are apt to be right down at ground level. But we still have the Osmanthus, Elaeagnus, autumn camellias and witch hazel to keep us looking up.

When I wrote about this plant before, I expressed doubts about its identity. I feel more certain now. Take a look here: http://mcwort.blogspot.com/2007/12/witch-hazel-two-for.html 

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