Sweet Sunshine
Well, my little potted witch hazel 'Sweet Sunshine' started blooming. Just a bit, at the bottom, but it seems to have settled in and it's promising to do so much more in coming seasons.
We went to Agua Fria* Nursery earlier in March, and I was so surprised to see a dozen gorgeous witch hazels for sale.
They had red flowered 'Diane', the cultivar that I grew in Connecticut that gave me such fits (poor bloom, frustrating leaf abscission, no scent). At the nursery, in a small pot, 'Diane' was absolutely beautiful. They had yellow flowered varieties too, and all of them were just lovely.
The one I snapped a photo of is 'Jelena', a copper colored bloomer that has only mild fragrance.
I asked the staff (the owner's daughter) about growing Hamamelis here in alkaline, high altitude conditions, and she said "it's not a problem. My Mom has one in her home garden across the street, in the ground, and it does well. It's beautiful."
So much for all my dithering about soil conditions for a witch hazel.
I think I'll leave mine in a pot, though. I could plant it in native soil, apparently, but I like it on the deck, visible in the sunlit foreground as I survey my small courtyard.
Will it be fragrant? At the classes I'm taking at the botanical garden, it was mentioned that scented plants don't emit much perfume in this dry air. You need humidity for fragrance to waft. Sigh.
Agua Fria:
* Jim knows that agua means water in Spanish. Agua Fria means cold water. Duh. It's the original town name of the older part of Santa Fe. But he insists "fria" means fried, and takes every opportunity to call Agua Fria "Fried Water" and he chuckles every time. Every time. Do you see what I have to put up with?
We went to Agua Fria* Nursery earlier in March, and I was so surprised to see a dozen gorgeous witch hazels for sale.
They had red flowered 'Diane', the cultivar that I grew in Connecticut that gave me such fits (poor bloom, frustrating leaf abscission, no scent). At the nursery, in a small pot, 'Diane' was absolutely beautiful. They had yellow flowered varieties too, and all of them were just lovely.
The one I snapped a photo of is 'Jelena', a copper colored bloomer that has only mild fragrance.
I asked the staff (the owner's daughter) about growing Hamamelis here in alkaline, high altitude conditions, and she said "it's not a problem. My Mom has one in her home garden across the street, in the ground, and it does well. It's beautiful."
So much for all my dithering about soil conditions for a witch hazel.
I think I'll leave mine in a pot, though. I could plant it in native soil, apparently, but I like it on the deck, visible in the sunlit foreground as I survey my small courtyard.
Will it be fragrant? At the classes I'm taking at the botanical garden, it was mentioned that scented plants don't emit much perfume in this dry air. You need humidity for fragrance to waft. Sigh.
Agua Fria:
* Jim knows that agua means water in Spanish. Agua Fria means cold water. Duh. It's the original town name of the older part of Santa Fe. But he insists "fria" means fried, and takes every opportunity to call Agua Fria "Fried Water" and he chuckles every time. Every time. Do you see what I have to put up with?
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