Sunday, February 9, 2014

The Witch Hazel I Wanted

This is 'Diane', Hamamelis x intermedia. This is the Witch Hazel I wanted.



























Just look at those long, crinkly, deep red petals. That's what I wanted. It does not appear that that's what I got.



























I bought two 'Diane's on the same day at the same nursery that came from the same grower. Monrovia that would be you. I bought a big one for the posh estate and a baby twiglet for myself. At least the posh estate didn't end up with an imposter.

I will say it would be nice if the real 'Diane' got completely naked and lost all those leaves before she got busy. My fake 'Diane' is naked yellow hussy.

I put on my good eyeballs and had another look this morning. My yellow imposter is just starting to bloom. The petals are still coiled up like a spring. I should at least get some frilly petals when they fully open.





















I had plans for the View From My Window. The fake 'Diane' is planted right about where the lady's head is with the urn on top. I was planning to look out my window and see a large naked shrub covered in deep red frilly petals while winter was in the on and off position. I suppose I can settle for yellow.





















Red would have been better because yellow is the dominant color of early spring. The 10,000 daffodils are mostly yellow. Speaking of daffodils, I found the very first sign of the emergence. These were near one of the rubbish pile burn spots where I had raked the leaves away during the burning. All those other 9,975 daffodils must be just below the leaf litter waiting to emerge.





















That's good. In a couple more weeks I'll be so distracted I'll forget about the fake 'Diane'.

10 comments:

Dianne said...

You made me laugh. I would settle for a naked yellow hussy, but I just have bare limbs. I keep looking where I know I had a witch hazel, but so far, nothing. I hope it has not been cut down. I only recognize it when it is in bloom.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Ha... here is to naked yellow hussys. My garden is still covered with snow. I hope to see some spring pop ups when the snow is gone.

Christopher C. NC said...

Dianne if you have the native Witch Hazel they bloom Oct/Nov. A spring imposter around here is the Cornelian Cherry or Dogwood, Cornus mas. They have tiny yellow flowers on bare trees very early in the spring quite reminiscent of Witch Hazel.

Lisa I am going to keep my fingers crossed for a mature conversion. Maybe that tiny twig is being influenced by the root stock. Rumor has it we are about to be buried in snow for the next three days.

Christopher C. NC said...

Dianne I am taking back the Cornelian Cherry/Dogwood. The spring blooming mimic in the forest here is Spicebush, Lindera benzoin.

Lola said...

I do hope you wind up with the red one. That is my choice. Looks like the daffodils are on their way. My Snowbells are finally blooming.

beverly said...

In my experience Diane does not show up well unless backed by an evergreen. The yellow may look better from your window!
But, nursery mislabeling is a scourge. I guess not enough people bring them back to incentivize fixing the problem.

Danna said...

Got any Forsythia? Have never seen mine bloom (at 3,100ft west side of Wolfpen). Think it is the Lynwood type. What month should it bloom at that elevation?

Christopher C. NC said...

Lola time will tell about the Witch Hazel. The daffodils are getting buried again as we speak. By Thursday morning I could have almost a foot of snow.

Bev I may mention my fake 'Diane' to the guys at the nursery, but I won't dig it up and force an exchange. I should go there when the snow is over and see if they have a real one to buy. They should be blooming down there.

Danna forsythia bloom mid to late March around here depending on the weather. Many things in our garden at this elevation are a week or two later compared to closer to Waynesville locations. Here is a picture of forsythia in bloom on the west side of Wolfpen.

Dianne said...

The one time I saw it bloom was during the late fall or winter. I did not know what it was until I saw a picture on your Blog. Maybe I have a picture of it in my thousands of pictures that are not organized. If I find one I will let you take a look. My Forsythia blooms pretty early, but it is around 1600 ft.

Christopher C. NC said...

Sounds like the native Witch Hazel Dianne. That's the only thing blooming then and they are hard to see unless you are up close or there are a big patch of them in the woods.