FNPS Plant Database

Hamamelis virginiana

witch-hazel

PHOTOS COMING SOON!

Nomenclature

Common Name:

witch-hazel

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Hamamelis virginiana

Family:

Hamamelidaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

shrub

Size:

10-15 ft tall by 10-15 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

yellow

Fruit Color:

brown

Phenology:

Deciduous, blooms in fall, fruits ripen in summer.

Noted For:

Showy Flowers

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Specimen or background plant. It is unusual in that it blooms in the fall.

Considerations:

Availability:

Native Nurseries, FNPS Plant Sales, Seed

Propagation:

Light:

Part Sun, Shade

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded------------------------------------------------Extremely Dry

Coming Soon!

Usually moist, occasional inundation ---to--- Not wet but not extremely dry

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand, Loam

Soil pH:

Slightly acidic to neutral

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.



Don't know your zone? Click here to search by zip code.

Ecology

Wildlife:

Birds, Mammals

Pollinated by moths that are active on cooler nights consistent with the season of flower for witch hazel.  

The fruit is eaten by bobwhite, white-tailed deer,  rabbit and beaver

Native Habitats:

Dry mesic deciduous forests, bluffs, hammocks, sinks, floodplains, creek swamps.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

The bark and leaves have been used to produce astringent extracts that have been used variously as topical medications. The forked twigs of witch hazel are preferred as divining rods. An extract of the plant is used in the astringent witch hazel. The bark and leaves were used by native Americans in the treatment of external inflammations.

General Comments:

Citations:

https://kimmerer.com/winter-sex-witchhazel/



Nelson, Gil.  2003.  Florida's Best Landscape Plants. Association of Florida Native Nurseries.



University of Tennessee Extension Service.  Desired Ph Range and salt tolerance of common nursery plants.    https://extension.tennessee.edu/mtnpi/Documents/handouts/Fertility/Desired-pH-Range-List.pdf   accessed 2021.



Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. 2021. Atlas of Florida Plants ( http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu /).  Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.



 

Request an update