I write about these every year; these winter flowers keep me going. I think people are always a little surprised by the thought of flowers in winter. Snowdrops are not quite as surprising as witch hazel, but they are both reliable winter bloomers that don’t quite make it to spring most years.
Tag: witch hazel
Winter Flowers and the Promise of Spring
The six weeks from mid-February to the beginning of April are very busy in the yard, but if you are not actively looking for changes, you will probably miss them.
Witch hazel is the first plant to bloom each year, sometime between the end of January and mid-February. It blooms later if early winter is mild than it does if it gets cold early. It seems to need some chill time followed by a few days above freezing in order for the buds to unfurl.

Aprilish Snow Precedes Cold Snap
A couple of people I chatted with on Friday used the “s” word when mentioning this weekend’s weather. My response was “Bite your tongue!” After all, our April snowstorm isn’t due for another week or two.
I was wrong. It snowed yesterday, looking very much like an April snow. It stopped before 10 a.m. It was the sort of snow shower that causes weather people to say “It will stick to the lawns, but not to the sidewalks.” (They do still warn you to be careful driving across bridges and overpasses.)

Signs of Spring and Hungry Rabbits
Looking over the photos on my phone, I begin to understand why I haven’t written much this winter. I have a lot of photographs of my icy sidewalk as I struggled to keep up with it. Several years ago the city required us to replace our sidewalk, and the inspector who came out insisted we lower it. We did. There has been runoff onto our sidewalk after heavy rain ever since, but it was not a problem until last month’s weird storm. The sidewalk was still extremely warm when it hit; I took the last set of icy-sidewalk photographs on February 21, and by the following day it was melted. Finally. All that fretting scraping and chipping gave me a chance to keep an eye on the witch hazel. Continue reading “Signs of Spring and Hungry Rabbits”
The Last Week of Winter, in Bloom
Two Mondays ago, March 8, when I went to put away my trash can, I noticed the witch hazel. I noticed it by scent–it’s a wonderful scent–a little spicy, but neither heavy nor overwhelming. The plant is a good 50 feet from the sidewalk. In the light of morning, I noticed that its flowers are all going wah hoo! The petals are sticking straight out.

The Annual Witch Hazel Watch
December and January were pretty warm, relatively speaking, and I was wondering how it would affect the witch hazel. Last year this plant bloomed on January 15; not this year. My guess is that the plant did not know that it was officially winter. The ground was not frozen at this point.

Sort of Winter…
I passed a neighbor’s yard on my lunchtime walk, and noticed that the Lenten roses were erupting in flower stalks. I knew I had to check my witch hazel.

It’s blooming. Those are not the only flowers, either. At least a quarter of the buds are open. Those little petals roll up like blow ticklers when the temperature drops below freezing; a cold front is breezing in right now.
This is certainly a little early. Earliest? I am not sure. I will have to check.
Witch Hazel
The witch hazel is making its move from interesting winter flower to green shrub in the background.

The leaves remain deeply corrugated as they unfurl and reach full size.
The Answer Is February 3
What was the question? When will the witch hazel bloom?

Last week, snowstorms and windchill warnings; this week it has reached 50°F twice. Icy rain will follow later in the week, which could make commuting far too exciting.
…And When Do Those Flowers Fade?
April 11, 2019. At this point, they are pretty well gone. Two weeks ago, they started crinkling up as it got warmer, but the scent was amazing into the first week of April.

That’s the end of the winter flowers. Spring is here.
Ominously Springlike, the Other Shoe Has Finally Dropped
The latter half of December and the first week of January felt more like early March than early January. The lawn greened up a bit, as did various ground-cover plants. Continue reading “Ominously Springlike, the Other Shoe Has Finally Dropped”