Buttercup winter hazel
Corylopsis pauciflora · Hamamelidaceae
Short, hanging clusters of pale primrose-yellow, scented bells on bare, slender twigs in early spring; small, neat, heart-shaped leaves follow.
- Size
- 5 ft tall, 6½ ft wide
- Zones
- 6 to 8
- Light
- Part sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Late March to mid April
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around buttercup winter hazel
The planner designed this bed around buttercup winter hazel when this page was made: a 22 × 10 ft (6.7 × 3.0 m) English border in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why buttercup winter hazel stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Buttercup winter hazel × 1, yellow
- 2 Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' × 16, pink
- 3 Himalayan fleeceflower 'Darjeeling Red' × 3, pink
- 4 Golden Japanese euonymus × 1, variegated leaves
- 5 Swamp milkweed × 4, white
- 6 White mugwort × 3, cream
- 7 Virginia bluebells × 14, blue
- 8 Palm sedge × 3, green leaves
- 9 Wild geranium 'Espresso' × 3, pink
- 10 Woodland phlox × 8, lavender
- 11 Dwarf crested iris × 56, lavender
- 12 Golden ragwort × 16, yellow
- 13 Asiatic lily × 4, yellow
- 14 Camassia × 6, blue
- 15 Checkered lily × 15, purple
Why this plant
- A classic partner for Virginia bluebells. Both are on this plan. A pairing gardeners have proved outranks a general rule.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So do golden Japanese euonymus and palm sedge.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 5 ft it is one of the taller plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to swamp milkweed (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for four weeks. From late March to mid April.
- Opens the season. For its first two weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 22 of the 24 groups (92%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The bed is balanced: the left half carries 48% of the visual weight and the right half 52%. Among the neighbours here are four pairs of recognised partners, such as palm sedge and swamp milkweed.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where buttercup winter hazel goes in a border
At 5 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is tall (4 to 5 ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
A soft yellow that is much kinder than forsythia, on a delicate, spreading shrub for a woodland edge. It needs acid soil and shelter from late frost.
- Soft yellow in early spring
- Woodland edges
- Scent
What to plant with buttercup winter hazel
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Lenten rose: purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for four weeks; bold leaves against its medium ones; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Japanese pieris: in flower together for four weeks, from late March; tall enough (8 ft) to stand behind it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Virginia bluebells: blue against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for two weeks; low enough (20 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about buttercup winter hazel
Does buttercup winter hazel need sun or shade?
Buttercup winter hazel grows in part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does buttercup winter hazel grow in?
USDA zones 6 to 8. It is hardy to zone 6, which means it survives winter nights down to about 0 °F (−18 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does buttercup winter hazel flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late March to mid April. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 6 | Late March to mid April |
|---|---|
| Zone 7 | Mid March to early April |
| Zone 8 | Early March to late March |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should buttercup winter hazel be planted?
6 ft (180 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 6½ ft (200 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 5 ft (150 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many buttercup winter hazel plants do I need?
Usually one. At 6 ft (180 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 6 ft apart: two plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is buttercup winter hazel poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like buttercup winter hazel?
Buttercup winter hazel comes from Korea, Japan, Taiwan. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Korean rhododendron 'Cornell Pink': the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 20 in taller, 20 in narrower.
- Fragrant sumac: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 8 in wider, wants dry soil.
- Yellow twig dogwood: the same job in a bed; 20 in taller, grown for its leaves, not its flowers.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat buttercup winter hazel?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What flowers after buttercup winter hazel?
Buttercup winter hazel is over by mid April. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Virginia bluebells: from mid April to early May, 20 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Bleeding heart: from early May to early June, 2½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Azalea 'Delaware Valley White': from early May to late May, 4 ft tall.
What does buttercup winter hazel look like in winter?
Buttercup winter hazel drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
Is buttercup winter hazel good for bees and butterflies?
Buttercup winter hazel is visited by butterflies, hummingbirds and songbirds.
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 5 ft (150 cm) tall, 6½ ft (200 cm) wide
- Plant
- 6 ft (180 cm) apart
- Height class
- Tall (4 to 5 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late March to mid April; hanging bells; yellow
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; green
- Shape
- Rounded, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 6 to 8
- Light
- Part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Hamamelidaceae
- Comes from
- Korea, Japan, Taiwan
- Attracts
- Butterflies, hummingbirds, songbirds
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.