If looking for named horticultural selections try to avoid grafted stock if at all possible (all the material offered may be grafted - I don't know). Because I've had the usual Virginia witch hazel rootstock come roaring up and try to replace the scions right from the start. As in gallon pot size. And an unnamed (as in might as well have been seed raised) grafted Chinese witch hazel I grew for decades had a Virginia witch hazel root system that never gave up. So that I got tired enough of cutting it back down that I actually let it grow up high enough to bloom for a time.

I don't think I've ever seen the selections offered any way other than grafted. They can be rooted?

Anyhow, compared to a lot of other grafted plants (I'm thinking Rose family like fruit trees) for me at least, the Witch hazel understocks aren't much of a problem. 1 or 2 shoots per year at most. I wouldn't say that is a reason for avoiding them! Maybe the plants Embo had were on different root stocks than mine.

Rarefind in NJ had a "witch hazel festival" for years, but I don't see much of that sort of thing in their future. Not the nursery they used to be.

The mortality rate of rooted cuttings in the first winter/dormancy period can be very high which is why they are often grafted.

Some growers use Parrotia as the rootstock.

Interesting. I wonder if using Parrotia rootstock (which I assume is a more recent practice) will result in less suckering than using virginiana rootstock? Here’s some info I received (8 or 9 years ago) from a grower in Ohio who specializes in Hamamelis:

“Suckering from the rootstock is usually not a function of the cultivar (although dwarf varieties might encourage this more) but more a function of the promptness & thoroughness of sucker removal (when plant is young) and type of rootstock. Some growers continue to use vernalis as a rootstock and this will result in an indefinite supply of suckers. We use virginiana which can also sucker a lot, but usually from the area of the crown and not from the root system itself (like vernalis). After establishing and balancing their growth rate / root systems, I have seen plants grafted on virginiana go completely sucker free. That could never happen on vernalis understock, in my opinion. Very few [Hamamelis] are offered own root, but we try to propagate our vernalis (including vernalis hybrids) by cuttings. These have a higher success rate than the intermedias.”

Yeah I have 2 older grafted witch hazels and one has completely stopped producing suckers as far as I can tell. The smaller one still does but I have been cutting them out and the frequency seems to be decreasing.

Contrast with Prunus mume 'Peggy Clarke' on Myrobalan I guess...didn't seem to sucker the first 2 or 3 years but then the problem got progressively worse no matter how much cutting off you did. I have now killed that one and replaced it with an own-root 'Peggy Clarke'.

I'm not sure where you are located, but some East coast sources include Rarefinds (NJ) which was mentioned, and although the hammamelis festival was canceled last year, I went the year before and there were plenty! Also I'm surprised Broken Arrow Nursery hasn't been mentioned, they have a great selection and even if they're not listed as available online try asking anyway.

I live in a part of Pa where they're almost never available, and ordering through a local nursery was more than my budget allowed, so I had to travel lol.