Risky Business

It may not officially be winter, but the weather says otherwise. Cold, freezing nights would not be your typical time to flower, but our native witch hazel, Hamamelis virginiana does. I have a very large plant in my garden and it begins to flower at the end of October, beginning of November. The yellow flowers are very fragrant (on warm days) and they arrive as the leaves are falling. This fall has not been kind, temperature wise, with numerous freezing nights and plunging temps tonight, going down into the teens. Despite that, there are still a few flowers hanging on, this 10th day of December. 

I've done a bit of research, trying to understand why a plant might make it so difficult for itself. I completely understand the "out of season" bloom cycle, which attracts desperate pollinators, but it seems that Hamamelis virginiana takes more risks, call it the Evel Knievel of shrubs. For one, its pollen is largely self-incompatible, which means you need more than 1 for pollination. My large shrub has only 1 seed pod from last year. Each seed pod contains 2 seeds, which take a full year to mature, at which time it opens on a warm day, launching the seed up to 30 feet away so seedlings have to find their own resources. 

Even as the flowers have been on the plant for a little over a month, and some have been pollinated, the actual process of growing or expanding into a seed pod will not happen till spring. Any seeds that mature will be ready to fly come late fall, as new flowers are opening. 

This lack of self procreation seems to have botanists a little baffled too. Especially when there are plenty in the wild. Our Hamamelis virginiana (I call it ours because it's named after Virginia), grows from Canada to Northern Florida. It's 1 of 2 witch hazels native to North America. If you do any hiking in Shenandoah National Park, you will find it in many locations. But, it's the only one that blooms at such a bad time (even counting the other 2 species from China and Japan). One theory is that it flowers after Hamamelis vernalis, a more southern native in order to remain distinct. Kind of like the nice guy - no, you go... NO, you go...

In our recent ice storm, I photographed the frozen flowers. Encapsulated in ice, they are actually protected in a holding pattern of 32 degrees. 

Witch hazel in an amazing shrub, medicinally speaking. The bark and leaves make an astringent, give relief from bug bites and can be used in tea to stop internal bleeding, OR give relief from hemorrhoids. As a strong tea (use bark or twigs), it can be used as a wash over poison ivy, a folk remedy that I was unaware of. 

The name witch hazel comes from the Old English work wiche which means pliant or bendable. Used by dowsers to find underground water when looking for well sites, some still use this method today. 

taken October 28th

I have this particular witch hazel because it was supposed to be H. 'Arnold's Promise', one of the earliest spring flowering hybrids. When it finally flowered (I bought it as a very small cutting), I was disappointed but over the years I've come to appreciate it, flowering when nothing else does and clearly up for the challenge. Not sure I'd have a garden without it now.

Comments

[laura mcdonald]

well done! photos are beautiful as always!