It seems hard to believe given the vicious cold snap that much of the nation is enduring, but the first part of January in Maine was actually a bit above average in temperature.  It is still cold, but at least not so cold to be the subject of casual conversation while in line at the market.  Of course this probably means we will be in for it soon, as the weather does have a way of balancing out.  On a positive, note, though, the above freezing temperatures did usher in the first blooms of 2010 at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.  I am happy to report that the ‘Amethyst’ Ozark witchhazel (Hamamelis vernalis ‘Amethyst’) we planted in the Lerner Garden of the Five Senses opened up its first tentative flowers last week.  Ozark witchhazel is one of those plants that, if it bloomed in spring or summer would receive little notice, but let’s face it, at this time of year I’ll take anything.  The species a close relative of the common witchhazel that you can find growing in our local woods, but it grows only on the Ozark Plateau from Missouri and Arkansas down to eastern Oklahoma.   Its flowers are rather small, but they are amazingly cold-hardy.  I have often seen it flowering during mild spells in January, but should the weather turns cold, the four-petalled blooms simply roll up and wait for milder weather to return.  During colder winters it may not flower until March in New England.

Unlike the flowers of the common witchhazel, which are nearly always yellow in color, Ozark witchhazel blossoms range from maroon and orange to gold and pale yellow.  I was skeptical when I read of a plant called ‘Amethyst,’ however, as this is a real color departure for the species.  Now that it is bloom, I have to say that it lives up to its name.  The color is a beautiful amethyst purple with no hint of the red or orange found in other “purple” witchhazel cultivars.  There is a cultivar called ‘Washington Park’ that is pinkish purple, but that is as close as I have found.  ‘Amethyst’ is quite remarkable, really.  In doing some background research for this post I found out that the plant was raised from seed around 1980 by Tim Brotsman (Brotsman’s Nursery) of Ohio and named in 2003 by Don Shadow of Shadow’s Nursery in Tennessee.  Don has been responsible for recognizing a number of superior native woody plants and helping to get them in to the nursery trade.  Brotsman believes that ‘Amethyst’ is actually a H. vernalis hybrid (most likely with one of the Asian species or their hybrid).  I have suspected this to be the case with another well-known H vernalis cultivar called ‘Sandra’ which has larger flowers and richer orange fall color than a typical H vernalis.  The fall color of ‘Amethyst’ is very similar and equally striking, and the flowers are slightly larger than a typical H vernalis (but at 1 cm still within the range for the species).  Whether ‘Amethyst’ is a hybrid or just a particularly fine form of the species, it has quickly become my favorite Ozark witchhazel and certainly an excellent antidote to the winter blues.  We purchased our plants from Broken Arrow Nursery, though a few other mailorder nurseries sell it, too.  It is rather scarce in the trade, so I plan on rooting some cuttings so we can make it available here in the future.  I will also collect seeds to see if I can raise a seedling that is even closer to true blue.  The fact that that this cultivar has very little red pigment masking the blue leads me to think it is possible if I can procure some viable seed.  Ozark witchhazel is an easy plant in the garden.  Grow it in full sun to light shade and moist soils and it should be winter-hardy to zone 4.   – Bill Cullina