Vernal witch hazel
Hamamelis vernalis · Hamamelidaceae
Small, spidery flowers of yellow to rusty red, with a strong, spicy scent, open on mild days from January to March.
- Size
- 8 ft tall, 10 ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Mid January to early March
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around vernal witch hazel
The planner designed this bed around vernal 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 vernal witch hazel stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Vernal witch hazel × 1, yellow
- 2 Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' × 42, pink
- 3 Stemless gentian × 86, blue
- 4 Hollow Joe-Pye weed × 1, pink
- 5 White mugwort × 4, cream
- 6 Joe Pye weed 'Little Joe' × 3, pink
- 7 Canadian burnet × 3, white
- 8 Scarlet coral bells × 24, pink
- 9 Chives × 42, purple
- 10 Lady's mantle × 3, green
- 11 Garden phlox 'Bright Eyes' × 3, pink
- 12 Easter lily × 5, white
- 13 Snowdrop × 22, white
- 14 Spring starflower × 20, blue
Why this plant
- The bed's only structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down, and it is the only one here.
- A classic partner for snowdrop. Both are on this plan. A pairing gardeners have proved outranks a general rule.
- The only yellow. The one hot colour: every other flower here is cool or neutral.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 8 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 garden phlox 'Bright Eyes' (2½ 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 8 weeks. From mid January to early March.
- Opens the season. For its first 7 weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 35 of the 37 groups (95%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The bed is tied together by its repeats: five kinds come round again along it, among them stemless gentian and bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei'. Pink is the colour seen most, on 5 of the 14 kinds grown for their flowers.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 7 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where vernal witch hazel goes in a border
At 8 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.
The Ozark witch hazel: smaller in flower than the Asian hybrids, but hardier, more strongly scented and the earliest of all. Good golden autumn colour.
- Winter flowers and scent
- Native shrub borders
- Screening
What to plant with vernal witch hazel
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Lenten rose: takes over when it finishes, flowering from late March; bold leaves against its medium ones; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Snowdrop: low enough (6 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Christmas fern: its dark green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (20 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about vernal witch hazel
Does vernal witch hazel need sun or shade?
Vernal 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 vernal witch hazel grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °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 vernal witch hazel flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid January to early March. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 4 | Late January to mid March |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Mid January to early March |
| Zone 6 | Mid January to early March |
| Zone 7 | Early January to late February |
| Zone 8 | Early January to mid February |
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 vernal witch hazel be planted?
8 ft (250 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 10 ft (300 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 8 ft (250 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many vernal witch hazel plants do I need?
Usually one. At 8 ft (250 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 8 ft apart: two plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is vernal 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 vernal 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 flowers after vernal witch hazel?
Vernal witch hazel is over by early March. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Lenten rose: from late March to early May, 18 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Snowdrop: from early March to late March, 6 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Pieris 'Mountain Fire': from late March to late April, 6½ ft tall.
What does vernal witch hazel look like in winter?
Vernal witch hazel drops its leaves and stands as bare branches: it is grown for winter flowers and scent. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
Is vernal witch hazel good for bees and butterflies?
Vernal witch hazel is visited by songbirds.
It is native to the United States.
More Hamamelis
- Common witch hazel Hamamelis virginiana
- 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
- Deer-resistant plants for shade
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Pet-safe plants for shade
- Native plants for shade
- Plants that feed garden birds
- The first flowers of spring
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 8 ft (250 cm) tall, 10 ft (300 cm) wide
- Plant
- 8 ft (250 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Mid January to early March; yellow, orange, red
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; green
- Shape
- Rounded, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Average, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Hamamelidaceae
- Comes from
- Southern and Central US (Ozark Plateau)
- Attracts
- Songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer
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.