CHARLES BURY
Steve Lamb of Sutton, Quebec, wanted to know if I had ever heard of witch hazel growing this far north. He said that a friend pointed out a clump of them, from which transplanted a couple of samples.
"They're now growing in both of our backyards. One of the unusual things about them is that they flower about this time of year, long after even their own leaves have fallen, and their pollen is supposedly spread by a night flying moth."
Various parts of the plant have medicinal uses, soothing everything from the sting of a morning shave to that royal pain in your butt.
When it comes to experts on plant life in Canada there's only place to start: Brother Marie Victorin. Born in Kingsey Falls, Marie Victorin combined religious passion with his boyhood love of the outdoors to become the country's first significant botanist. Founder of the Institute of Botonay at the University of Montreal, Marie Victorin was also a tireless explorer of plants, spending as much time as he could working from a tent in the northern wilds. His landmark book Flore Laurentienne, first scientific inventory of plant life in Canada, was published in 1935.
Marie Victorin found witch hazel, Hamamelis virginiana, to live in the west and centre of Quebec "as far as the Ile d'Orléans, but always rare and in isolated colonies." He said the plant was highly sought by natives for what he delicately called "American domestic medicine", and its use had already begun in white society.
"It has been used to treat problems of the veinous system: varicose veins, hemorrhoids (that pain in the butt), etc. It passes for an energetic hemostatic (reduces bleeding) and for this it is generally used in shaving lotions."
Today, commercial witch hazel is distilled from young flowering twigs. Tinctures are also made from the leaves and bark, although these may cause allergic reactions. Other names for witch hazel are winter-bloom and snapping alder; in French it's called Hamamélis de virginie or Café du diable - devil's coffee.
In The Flora of Canada, Part 3, published by the National Museum of Natural Sciences, H.J. Scoggan also reports witch hazel as far north as Minnesota, Ottawa, and Quebec City. George A. Petrides, author of the Peterson Field Guide to Trees and Shrubs, doesn't venture an estimate of witch hazel's range. He does say that the plant expels its seeds to spread its range: "...the old fruit pods 'pop out' their seeds for distances up to 20 feet."
Trees, Shrubs and Vines for Attracting Birds, by Richard M. Degraaf and Gretchin M. Witman, is more pessimistic. This book puts witch hazel's northern limit at Hardiness Zone 5 - meaning it barely makes it into the Lake Champlain and St. Lawrence lowlands of southern Quebec. This book also tells us why, where and how to grow it in the garden.
"Witch-hazel is the last native shrub in the Northeast to flower in fall. Its dense foliage is effective in screening out unsightly views when planted in masses or hedgerows, and is useful for creating windbreaks for wildlife. Plants provide good background for lower ornamentals. They are very hardy and slow growing."
"Propagation: Witch-hazel is difficult to transplant from the wild without prior root pruning (Robinson 1960). It can be propagated from cuttings or seeds. To obtain seeds from the wild, gather ripe fruits and store them in a dry place until seeds are ejected. They can be stored at 41ºF for at least one year (U.S. Forest Service 1948). Ripe seeds, under natural conditions, ordinarily require two years in the ground to germinate (Van Dersal 1939), winter should germinate in one year.
Stratify the seeds in a mixture of sand and peat for sixty days at 68ºF (night) and 86ºF (days), followed by ninety days at 40ºF. Seeds sown in late summer should be covered with mulch to prevent freezing, and uncovered upon germination. Stratified seeds may be sown in the spring as soon as the ground thaws. The soil should be kept moist (U.S. Forest Service 1948).
"Cuttings should be placed in a sand medium early enough to allow for good root development before winter. Seed production is greater on plants receiving full or partial sunlight."
The Complete Book of Herbs, by Andi Clevely and Katherine Richmond, also offers some witch hazel growing hints: "Cultivation: prefers lime-free soils in full sun or light shade, may be grown as a decorative lawn specimen or among other shrubs, or trained against walls. Sow seeds in spring in trays under glass or a seedbed outdoors, or layer branches in autumn. Cut out suckers annually; if rooted these may be transplanted for new plants."
In the Eastern Townships witch hazel appears as a shrub 2 or 3 feet tall, although in sheltered locations it may grow as high as 6 to 8 feet. Further south in the centre of its range (yes Virginiana, that Latin name does mean what you think it does) it can grow to a small tree some 20 to 30 feet tall, with a spread of 20 to 25 feet.
Like most wild plants, witch hazel is a grocery store for birds and other critters. Birds feeding on witch-hazel seeds include the Turkey, Bobwhite, Ring-necked pheasant and Cardinal. Perhaps more importantly, it is a preferred if not essential food for the ruffed grouse, which enjoys the tender buds in spring as well as the tough seeds of autumn and winter. Whitetail deer and cottontail also dine at their local witch hazel patch.
Copyright © 1998 Charles Bury/Log Cabin Chronicles/12.98 |
I always thought witch hazel was my mother's crabby maiden aunt. Anyway, that's what we used to call her. But you're right of course, it's actually a plant. The short answer is, yes, wild Witch Hazel is native to our area, although gardeners also cultivate a couple of garden varieties.