Plant of the Week
Arnold Promise Witchhazel
Latin: Hamamelis x intermedia 'Arnold Promise'
 Gardeners are always anxious for winter to end, and as a second
mild winter in a row draws to a close, early bloomers are busy doing their
thing.
The nicest of these are the hybrid witchhazels, especially the
yellow-flowered Arnold Promise. This small tree grows to 20 feet tall and wide
with lots of twiggy branches and yellow blooms that appear on warm days from
January through March.
The flowers are best for viewing up close where the strap-shaped petals, that
grow to one inch long, crowd themselves along the stems. The witchhazels will
close their flowers during freezing weather and reopen them as the weather
warms. Witchhazel leaves are a medium green and grow to three inches long. They
are somewhat coarse textured in appearance, with good yellow, occasionally
orange, fall color.
The hybrid witchhazels were first described at the close of World War II by
Alfred Rehder as crosses between the Japanese and Chinese withchhazel species.
The hybrids not only had larger flowers than either parent, they possessed
hybrid vigor and were faster and easier to grow. To date, this is the most
popular group of witchhazels in the garden with over 150 selections described,
if not available.
Horticulturists love witchhazels, but they are still hard to find in
nurseries and even harder to find in gardens. Why? Several problems confront
this plant and reduce its appeal to the average buyer. First, it blooms early
and most nurseries have few customers walking through their doors before
mid-March, so its flowers are never seen. Secondly, it suffers from the "ugly
puppy" problem and just doesn’t look cute and appealing as a young plant.
Finally, it is a bit difficult to propagate and slow growing for the nurseryman
so they opt for easier plants to produce.
An extract of witchhazel has been used for centuries and, unlike most herbal
remedies, has never gone out of production. The extract is prepared by boiling
the bark, young shoots and roots. It is used as a soothing ointment for rashes,
cuts and abrasions. The common name comes from the practice of using branches of
this plant to divine or dowse for water.
Witchhazels should be planted in a reasonably good soil, where they can get
full sun. In nature they are stream bank plants, so don’t plant them in a heavy
clay soil or where they get too dry during the summer months. They are ideal
plants for near the entryway to the home or near a patio where their early
blooms can be viewed up close.
By: Gerald Klingaman, retired
Extension Horticulturist
- Ornamentals
Extension News -
February 12, 1999
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