Common witch hazel
Hamamelis virginiana · Hamamelidaceae
The last native shrub to flower: spidery, yellow, scented flowers open as its own golden leaves fall, in October and November.
- Size
- 15 ft tall, 15 ft wide
- Zones
- 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Mid October to late November
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around common witch hazel
The planner designed this bed around common witch hazel when this page was made: a 30 × 14 ft (9.1 × 4.3 m) English border in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why common witch hazel stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Common witch hazel × 1, yellow
- 2 Bloody cranesbill × 10, pink
- 3 Green-and-gold × 32, yellow
- 4 Blue holly × 1, blue-green leaves
- 5 White mugwort × 4, cream
- 6 Bee balm 'Jacob Cline' × 4, red
- 7 Swamp milkweed × 3, white
- 8 Virginia bluebells × 24, blue
- 9 Palm sedge × 3, green leaves
- 10 Joe-Pye weed 'Baby Joe' × 3, pink
- 11 Woodland phlox × 16, lavender
- 12 Sweet violet × 64, purple
- 13 Camassia × 5, blue
- 14 Easter lily × 6, white
- 15 Double snowdrop × 31, white
Why this plant
- The only bold leaves here. The rest are fine and medium. A change of leaf keeps plants distinct when nothing is in flower.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So do blue holly and palm sedge.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 15 ft it is the tallest plant 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 7 weeks. From mid October to late November.
- Closes the season. In all that time nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 29 of the 31 groups (94%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Bloody cranesbill, fine in leaf, stands next to bold-leaved common witch hazel, and each shows the other off. Sweet violet is planted in 16 places along the bed, which gives it rhythm.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 5 Good, 1 Needs revision. Its weakest point is height and scale: Heights average about 10 in at the front, 2 ft in the middle and 5 ft at the back. Along the back row the heights step up and down, between 4 ft and 15 ft, and no two neighbours are the same height.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where common witch hazel goes in a border
At 15 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is super tall (over 6½ 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 large, wide, woodland-edge shrub. Flowers in November are a strange and welcome thing. The astringent witch hazel of the pharmacy is distilled from its bark.
- Flowers in late autumn
- Native woodland edges
- A tall screen in part shade
What to plant with common witch hazel
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Christmas fern: its dark green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; medium leaves against its bold ones; low enough (20 in) to stand in front of it.
- White wood aster: flowers first, late August to early October, so the spot is never empty; medium leaves against its bold ones; low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it.
- Oakleaf hydrangea: flowers first, mid June to early August, so the spot is never empty; low enough (6½ ft) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about common witch hazel
Does common witch hazel need sun or shade?
Common witch hazel grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day), 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, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does common witch hazel grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 8. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °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 common witch hazel flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid October to late November. As an autumn flower it keeps much the same dates in every zone: it answers to shortening days and cool nights more than to the warmth of spring.
| Zone 3 | Mid October to late November |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Mid October to late November |
| Zone 5 | Mid October to late November |
| Zone 6 | Mid October to late November |
| Zone 7 | Mid October to late November |
| Zone 8 | Mid October to late November |
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 common witch hazel be planted?
13 ft (400 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 15 ft (450 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 15 ft (450 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many common witch hazel plants do I need?
Usually one. At 13 ft (400 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 13 ft apart: one plant for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is common witch 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.
Do deer eat common witch hazel?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What does common witch hazel look like in winter?
Common witch 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 common witch hazel good for bees and butterflies?
Common witch hazel is visited by pollinators, moths and songbirds.
It is a host plant: the caterpillars of witch hazel dagger moth feed on its leaves. A butterfly can only lay its eggs on its host plants, so these do more for it than any nectar flower.
It is native to the United States and Canada.
More Hamamelis
- Vernal witch hazel Hamamelis vernalis
- Witch hazel 'Arnold Promise' Hamamelis x intermedia 'Arnold Promise'
- Witch hazel 'Diane' Hamamelis x intermedia 'Diane'
- Witch hazel 'Jelena' Hamamelis x intermedia 'Jelena'
In these guides
- Plants for slopes and banks
- Deer-resistant plants for shade
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Pet-safe plants for shade
- Native plants for shade
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Plants that flower in fall
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 15 ft (450 cm) tall, 15 ft (450 cm) wide
- Plant
- 13 ft (400 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Mid October to late November; yellow
- Leaves
- Bold texture, deciduous; green
- Shape
- Vase-shaped, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Average, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Hamamelidaceae
- Comes from
- Eastern North America
- Attracts
- Pollinators, moths, songbirds
- Host plant for
- Witch hazel dagger moth
- Stands up to
- Deer, erosion
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). 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.