January 21, 1905. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
51 
The Witch-Hazels. 
Hardy flowers at mid-winter in the open are relatively 
scarce, and (he farther north or inland we go, they are rela¬ 
tively’more scarce at that time, and would attain full beauty 
only at a later date. Amongst (he few shrubs that do bloom 
in our winter, few, if any, are more effective than the Witch- 
Hazels (Hamamelis). Their season of flowering practically 
commences in September or October with the common or 
North American species, to be continued by the other known 
forms in cultivation, from China and Japan, which keep up 
a successional display until March. If the winter is unusually 
mild, it is more than probable that they would be all out of 
bloom previous to that month in 
the latitude of London, but the in¬ 
termittent spells of cold weather 
prevent them from expanding all at 
one time. This may be an advan¬ 
tage should we happen to have a 
severe spell of frost^when the bushes 
have commenced blooming,, as the 
expanded blossoms are almost cer¬ 
tain to be destroyed if a low tem¬ 
perature prevails over a certain 
time. Those blossoms still in bud 
are not affected by this check to 
the open blossoms, and expand later 
on, thus renewing the beauty and 
interest of the plants. 
Some cultivator may complain or 
object to the Witch-Hazels, on the 
score that the stems are leafless 
during the flowering period. Those 
who are acquainted with them re¬ 
gard this, however, as their most 
important feature, for the simple 
reason that the blossoms are not 
hidden by foliage, but are fully ex¬ 
posed, and thus seen to the greatest 
advantage in the landscape. A 
small plant or a poorly-flowered 
one can give no idea of the full 
beauty and effect they are capable 
of producing when seen in their best 
form. The North American species, 
which is in full bloom in our autumn 
long before the fall of the leaf, may 
be regarded as an interesting plant, 
but it is certainly not conspicuous. 
The flowers are neither very large 
nor highly coloured, and their effect 
is obscured by foliage. 
In the matter of cultivation these 
shrubs require no special care, being 
perfectly hardy, with the exception 
of flowers that may be fully ex¬ 
panded during a frosty period, and 
they are by no means particular in 
the matter of soil, provided it is 
as friable as a well-tilled garden soil and well drained. We 
have seen them flowering splendidly in a soil of a light and 
sandy character, while in other gardens that of a relatively 
heavy character is perfectly suitable, provided there is no 
underground and stagnant water. 
The leaves of all of them bear a close resemblance to those 
of the Nut or Hazel, and in all probability the name Witch- 
Hazel has been suggested by the similarity in the foliage of 
these plants to the Hazel. In all other respects these two 
types of vegetation are amply distinct, belonging as they do to 
widely separated orders. The ribbon-like character of the 
flowers suggests crumpled ribbon or cut paper to most people. 
Their narrowness may not be looked upon as perfection in the 
eyes of the florist or those who sympathise with his ideas, but 
they are perfectly fitted to the needs of the plant, and would 
enable it to escape injury during windy weather, which we 
are likely to get during their period of flowering, when plants 
with broader petals suspended on naked branches would be 
destroyed. 
During the summer time these plants are not as a rule very 
conspicuous, nor constitute objects of beauty in the landscape, 
so that they may be planted in parts of the grounds where 
nothing particularly prominent is desired in summer, but 
where they will be sheltered in winter, and show their peculiar 
beauty to advantage. We do not mean to imply that they 
should be planted in any out of the way corner of the grounds, 
but, on the other hand, placed where they will get the full ad¬ 
vantage of light to mature the foliage and shoots, as well as 
to plump up the flower buds, which have to be completed for 
flowering before the commencement of winter. 
Hamamelis japonica zuccariniana : Flowers lemon yellow. 
The flowers of all of them coming under our notice are of 
some shade of yellow, paler or darker, but some of their rela¬ 
tives, belonging to other genera, have white flowers, including 
Fothergilla Gar deni, and Loropetalum chinense, of which we 
gave a supplementary illustration in our issue for April last. 
In this instance the leaves are evergreen, but we have not 
seen plants of any great size grown out of doors. Where the 
leaves should naturally hang upon the plants, those which 
come from a warmer climate than ours would be slightly less 
hardy than where the leaves are perfectly deciduous. 
Hamamelis japonica commenced flowering earlier this year 
than it usually gets the credit of doing. The exact time is 
determined by the nature of the weather, but at the end of 
the first week of the year the flowers were fairly well advanced 
in the typical form. These are bright yellow, slender, and 
supported by the calyx, which is red inside, and thus gives 
additional interest to the flowers when closely inspected. At 
