Gorgeous! I’m up near Boston and planted a witch hazel this past fall. Can’t wait to see how it blooms! In another month or so ;)

why in the world would some rain and fog stop a gardener ...

would you prefer my 12 degrees and flurries???

invest in a good slicker.. and get out there.. and stop making excuses ...

ken

ps: thank god you dont live in the pnw... youd never leave the house.. lol ...

Ha ha Ken. I'm as close to the PNW climate as you can get without being there, just colder. My minimum operating temperature is 40 degrees. One degree to go and I am ready to transplant an Aronia arbutifolia 'Brilliantissima. Already went on a scouting mission to find a new home for it. In the unrelenting fog. I'm hoping the sun might peek out so I can do some chop and drop of the meadows. The bulbs will begin to rise in this hot spell.

In SW Virginia the native witch-hazels bloomed in late Nov around Thanksgiving:

I have a nice grove of the native Hamamelis virginiana that blooms late Oct. into Nov. Yours look like they have bigger petals than mine. Their bloom can be sparse, almost invisible to full and very showy from year to year.

I had a nice collection of small seedling trees I wanted to re-home. The utility company came in this spring and did a very targeted attempted murder of them. The spraying crew boss must have freaked a bit when he called them off before major carnage could happen. My easement is an official no spray zone. I opted not to complain. Because. This spring I will know how many survived.

My witch hazel is blooming a red orange but not as long of petals. I like yours better. Mine is 15 ft or so and has been there forever so it stays. I wish it had a good fragerence but it only has a very faint one. Which one of yours do you like the best and why???

'Jelena' is my favorite of the three H. x intermedia I have because the flowers petals are the biggest and I really like the orange color blend it has. 'Arnold's Promise' has the fullest bloom overall and is the most fragrant. Conditions have to be just so for the scent to perfume the air.

Those are two standout varieties in general (note that it is 'Arnold Promise', after the Arnold Arboretum).

The Chris Lane web site has a collection of photos:

http://witchhazelnursery.com/Photo%20Library1.htm

If you buy his book the pictures are bigger and clearer.

Wow. That is a lot of witch hazels. To bad he is in England. Or maybe not.

Oh I have Arnold Promise! Can’t wait to see the blooms.

On February 25th the witch hazels 'Arnold's Promise' and 'Jelena' are/still full blooming. Such a good plant to have for the Barren Time. The stinze has started to rise. No need to wait for "spring" to get things started.

Gorgeous! Thanks for this update. It’s been in the 40’s this week in Boston so I hope for blooms in my yard soon. Of course most of the ground has snow still.

Christopher- my Arnold Palmer is in bloom! It opened up this week as we had delightful temps in the 60’s even reaching 70. Now it’s blustery and 20 again. Hope you have found a few benches for your gardens.