Witch Hazels in Texas

I know it is probably best to ask these questions BEFORE planting, but I thought that it was such a cool and hard-to-find tree that I couldn't pass it up when I found it. :)

I bought a 'Jelena' witch hazel and planted it along the north wall of my house in Grapevine. Does anyone have any experience with how these trees will do around here? I haven't seen any reference to hybrid witch hazels being grown in Texas.

Thanks!
Dennis

I'm not sure if we're talking the same plant or not, but the loripetalum is also called witch hazel or chinese fringe flower. I have a number of these and they do really well here. They have a small maroon leaf and hot pink fringe type flowers. You're more north than I am, but if this is the plant you're talking about, I think it'll do okay there.

It is related to lorapetalum (the leaf shape and flower structure is quite similar), but is actually quite a different plant. It is a tree form that can get 10 to 15 feet tall. I don't see a PlantFiles entry for Jelena, but it is related to Arnold's Promise, which I found in the plant files:

http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/79886/index.html

Dennis

Here it is: http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/79891/index.html

This message was edited Jan 4, 2007 2:53 PM

The dirt doctor loves it. He says its easy to grow in well drained soils in part shade or full sun. I think the seeds and leaves are edible. Should be fine in the sandy soil of Grapevine.

So, Dennis, where did you find this treasure? I had two at my house in Indiana and loved having blossoms in Feb. when there was snow on the ground. I've been wondering if they would grow here and would love to try one, too.

Linda

I found it at Redenta's in Colleyville last spring (which has since become Tinker Gardens). They had a Jelena and an Arnold's Promise. This is the only time I have seen them in stock at a Texas nursery, but I have seen a number of online retails that offer them.

I planted it in the spring and it did pretty well until late in the summer, when the leaves got crispy on the upper branches. We had that insane number of 100 degree days in a row, and I think I didn't keep an eye on it quite enough near the end. The branches upon which the leaves dried up flowered in November with pale yellow flowers that didn't last long. The leaves on the lower branches lasted through fall and had nice color, and they currently have many flower buds that look ready to open. I can tell from one that is peeking out they they are the correct red-orange color, so I don't know what the deal was with the November blooms. The upper branches that had a problem currently have leaf buds on them, however, so I'm hoping that my negligence hasn't caused permanent damage.

Dennis

Wow! Sugarfoot Linda, so nice to hear from you, I have missed you.
I hope your wildflowers will be beautiful this year.
Josephine.

Dennis: I have some year old seed. Has anyone had success with WH seed?

I was reading something that made the odd behavior with the yellow flowers in late fall (as I described above) make sense: I think that the branches that bloomed in fall were from the rootstock (the rest of the branches bloomed a few weeks ago with orange flowers). From my reading, it looks like the native witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is often used as a rootstock for the hybrid witch hazels like Jelena, and virginiana blooms in late fall with yellow flowers.

Does it make sense that two thirds of my tree is virginiana, and the other third is Jelena? If so, what would be the best thing to do? Should I just prune out the Jelena and let the virginiana take over? The Jelena branches are basically low branches that would be good pruning candidates anyway, and I would be perfectly happy with a native variety. The tree has been in the ground for a little less than a year - would it be better to wait to prune the other branches, or should I get them out of there now? Is this a good time of the year?

Any advice would be appreciated!
Dennis

Dennis, why not have a dual variety tree. I would leave it alone for a year or two and let the stronger one tell me what I should do.
Josephine.

Dennis, I would be tempted to try to root the native and if you succeed then cut it out of the Jelena. Then you'll have one of each and the Jelena will probably be stronger by itself. I had an Arnold Promise and a Diane when I lived in Indiana and loved both. One twig would perfume an entire room when blooming. If you were successful at propagating the native, you would be very popular at a plant swap. ;-)

It would be greate to have another native that I could plant elsewhere, but I've never propagated a plant. I'd really love to learn how, so I could participate in swaps. Does anyone have any suggested readings for how to get started? Unfortunately, web pages about witch hazel say that they are quite difficult to propagate from cuttings, so I don't know if it would be a good first project...

Dennis, root stock is used because it imparts qualities that the grafted top part may lack. Many times it has to do with plant vigor. In which case, if the root stock is allowed to grow, it will soon outgrow the graft and eventually kill it.

This is what the American Horticultural Society's book on propagation says:

I just got some H. virginiana seeds. I'll report if I have any luck with them.

Howard Garrett's "Herbs for Texas" is absolutely wonderful for questions like this. I refer to it almost daily.

Edited to say I put the seeds in pots, then read in Garrett's book they take two years to germinate.

Wonderful.

This message was edited Mar 8, 2007 1:26 PM

Dennis, I'm really glad you asked this question...I've had an 'Arnold Promise' in a big container on my patio for the past six months, and was fretting about what to do with it. It has small leaves coming out on it...and now I'm gonna plant it in the front yard without (much) fear...

Dennis and all, I was just searching info on witch Hazel and I found this thread. So now that you've had this plant for a year how do you like it? I'm thinking about getting one or more. This Variety 'Diane' looks nice.

Mine is doing pretty well. It gets a bit more sun than I thought it would in its current location and it would probably appreciate a bit more shade (the leaves get a bit crispy around the edges in the hottest part of the summer). I also wouldn't plant it quite so close to the house because it seems to like to spread out. I ended up pruning it so that all it has left are the more vigorous native Hamamelis Virginiana branches. I also planted a very small Hamamelis Vernalis "Christmas Cheer" in the back in a more shaded area, but it is too new to say how it will do. I have high hopes for it. :)

I would definitely be up for trying yet another variety if I had more space. They seem very low maintenance, and even when they are not in bloom, I personally really like the look of the foliage and the bark.

Dennis

Cool! Thanks Dennis. Well I definitely am going to get some. Now I'm thinking I'll start with Jelena since they've worked for you. Do you have any pictures?

Just to give you an idea of what conditions the native kind likes (maybe the hybrids also), I'll give this from How to Grow Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest:

"Witch-hazels grow in moist but well-drained soils along streams or canyons in light shade. The best looking specimens are found on the moister sites. H. virginiana occurs in east Texas, and an isolated population can be found along streams in Bandera County in the Edwards Plateau."
And about growing from seed:
"Under natural conditions some seeds will germinate the first spring, but many remain dormant until the following year. Some seed lots may require up to 2 years to complete germination."
So there's a chance they won't take that long to germinate. If the planted seeds went through enough warm weather and then enough cold, it might be sooner.

I unfortunately don't have any pictures. Currently there isn't much to see, since it is deciduous....

Dennis