Witch hazel 'Diane'
Hamamelis x intermedia 'Diane' · Hamamelidaceae
The reddest witch hazel: flowers of deep copper-red in late winter, and some of the richest autumn colour of any shrub.
- Size
- 10 ft tall, 11½ ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Early February to mid March
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around witch hazel 'Diane'
The planner designed this bed around witch hazel 'Diane' 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 witch hazel 'Diane' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Witch hazel 'Diane' × 1, red
- 2 Himalayan fleeceflower 'Darjeeling Red' × 5, pink
- 3 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 73, yellow
- 4 Clumping bamboo 'Rufa' × 1, green leaves
- 5 Swamp milkweed × 5, white
- 6 Canadian burnet × 4, white
- 7 Indian pink × 19, red
- 8 Creeping Jacob's ladder × 35, blue
- 9 English primrose × 40, yellow
- 10 Green-and-gold × 42, yellow
- 11 Turk's cap lily × 5, orange
- 12 Easter lily × 6, white
- 13 Snowdrop × 19, white
Why this plant
- The only bold leaves here. The rest are medium and fine. A change of leaf keeps plants distinct when nothing is in flower.
- A classic partner for snowdrop. 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 does clumping bamboo 'Rufa'.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 10 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 canadian burnet (5 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 early February to mid March.
- Opens the season. For its first five weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 41 of the 45 groups (91%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The scheme leans hot (red, yellow and orange) and uses pink and blue for relief, with white to calm things between them. The back corners are held by witch hazel 'Diane' and clumping bamboo 'Rufa', the tallest plants on the plan.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 5 Good, 1 Satisfactory.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where witch hazel 'Diane' goes in a border
At 10 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.
Red flowers show less from a distance than yellow ones, so plant it close to a path, with light behind it. Remove the old leaves if they cling and hide the flowers.
- Red flowers in winter
- Outstanding autumn colour
- A specimen close to the house
What to plant with witch hazel 'Diane'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Snowdrop: in flower together for two weeks, from early March; fine leaves against its bold ones; low enough (6 in) to stand in front of it.
- Lenten rose: takes over when it finishes, flowering from late March; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Sweet box: in flower together for six weeks, from early February; medium leaves against its bold ones; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about witch hazel 'Diane'
Does witch hazel 'Diane' need sun or shade?
Witch hazel 'Diane' 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, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does witch hazel 'Diane' grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 8. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °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 witch hazel 'Diane' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early February to mid March. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 5 | Early February to mid March |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Late January to early March |
| Zone 7 | Mid January to early March |
| Zone 8 | Mid January to late 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 witch hazel 'Diane' be planted?
10 ft (300 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 11½ ft (350 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 10 ft (300 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many witch hazel 'Diane' plants do I need?
Usually one. At 10 ft (300 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 10 ft apart: two plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is witch hazel 'Diane' 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 witch hazel 'Diane'?
Witch hazel 'Diane' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Vernal witch hazel: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 20 in shorter, 20 in narrower.
- Bottlebrush buckeye: the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers late June to late July, white, not red.
- Oakleaf hydrangea 'Alice': the same job in a bed; 20 in narrower, flowers late June to late August.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat witch hazel 'Diane'?
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 witch hazel 'Diane'?
Witch hazel 'Diane' is over by mid 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).
- Forsythia: from late March to mid April, 8 ft tall.
- Japanese pieris: from late March to late April, 8 ft tall.
What does witch hazel 'Diane' look like in winter?
Witch hazel 'Diane' drops its leaves and stands as bare branches: it is grown for red flowers in winter. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
More Hamamelis
- Common witch hazel Hamamelis virginiana
- Vernal witch hazel Hamamelis vernalis
- Witch hazel 'Arnold Promise' Hamamelis x intermedia 'Arnold Promise'
- 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
- The first flowers of spring
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 10 ft (300 cm) tall, 11½ ft (350 cm) wide
- Plant
- 10 ft (300 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Early February to mid March; red
- Leaves
- Bold texture, deciduous; green
- Shape
- Vase-shaped, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Hamamelidaceae
- Stands up to
- Deer, erosion
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.