EcoBlog
The latest thinking on ecological landscapes. Useful tips to improve our environment
Spotlight on Great Native Plants: Vernal Witch-hazel
Vernal Witch-hazel aka Spring Witch-hazel (Hamamelis vernalis) is one of our earliest blooming native shrubs, flowering as early as January, but often in February or March. Its orange, red or yellow flowers can appear while snow is still on the ground, and hug tightly onto the leafless branches. The spicy, sweet fragrance of the flowers will often lure you even before you spot the showy flowers. This hardy plant is native to rocky stream banks and sand bars Ozark plateau of Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Hamamelis vernalis has a very long bloom time, as long as 4 weeks, and offers a pollen and nectar reward to any small native bees, honey bees or gnats who may venture out on the occasional warm and sunny winter day. The plant grows well in moist to wet, slightly acidic soil, in zones 4 to 8 and it is happiest in part sun to part shade. You can expect the mature size to be from 6 to 12 feet high by 6 to 15 ft wide.
Let us know what you have blooming in your garden right now and what state are you in!
Happy Winter Gardening from Kim Eierman at EcoBeneficial!
Photo: Hamamelis vernalis
Photo credit: Flickr/JimthePhotographer
www.flickr.com/photos/jcapaldi/8416970821/sizes/z/in/photostream/
More from EcoBlog
Butterfly, Butterfly: Wherefore Art Thou Butterfly?
I recently heard the celebrity Bill Maher doing a radio interview during which he confessed to having been an avid butterfly collector when he was a child. He seems quite regretful now, having killed so many butterflies and displaying them on the walls of his childhood home, with his father’s…
Protecting Bees: Skip the “Secret Sauce”
You may have heard about the recent bumble bee massacre in Oregon, which killed an estimated 25,000 – 50,000 bees. Shoppers at a Target store in Willsonville, Oregon found thousands of dead bumble bees in the parking lot. The likely culprit? A landscaping company which had sprayed the neonicotinoid pesticide…
The Native Flora-Fauna Connection: The Complexity of Native Plants
I recently had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Doug Tallamy speak again. For those of you who have not yet read his book, “Bringing Nature Home,” I encourage you to rev up your Amazon account or drive to a bookstore (remember those?) and buy his book today. Tallamy is an…