Nature may seem to be at a standstill in winter, but many witch-hazels are getting ready to put on a show. The small, straplike yellow petals of their fragrant flowers extend on warm days to welcome pollinators and then curl up tight for protection when temperatures drop. The sight of a witch-hazel in full bloom against a snowy backdrop presents one of the most enchanting and cheering sights in the winter landscape. Their bright hue and piquant scent evoke the promise of spring.
In fact, these shrubs and small trees are our most reliable winter-flowering plants in the Northeast and allow the Arnold Arboretum to boast a schedule of bloom that touches every month of the year. The earliest to flower is our common witch-hazel, a species native to the eastern US with yellow-petaled flowers that tend to emerge in October and November when most plants are going dormant. In February, look for our other US native species—the Ozark witch-hazel—to begin flowering, as well as species from China (H. mollis) and Japan (H. japonica). Popular cultivars of the hybrid of the Chinese and Japanese witch-hazels (H. × intermedia) include ‘Arnold Promise’, a beautiful, bright-flowered selection developed at the Arnold Arboretum. Blooming among these witch-hazels may persist through March, so come see this!
Learn more about witch-hazels and Boston’s museum of trees at arboretum.harvard.edu. Open every day. Free every day.
