PL
The Garden
Witch hazel BY DOLORES MULLER
T
he aroma of witch hazel transports me back to memories of my childhood. My grandma used it for just about everything. When I came in with a bug bite, I can still hear her say to me, “Rub some witch hazel on it, honey.” Not just bug bites, but rashes, sunburn or any skin irritation or inflammation was treated with witch hazel. I guess grandma knew what she was talking about. Native Americans have long used the leaves and bark of the witch hazel tree for many folk remedies. It contains tannins, oils and other substances that lessen inflammation, draw tissue together and slow bleeding. Witch hazel is produced from the leaves and bark of the North American witch hazel shrub, hamamelis virginiana, When distilled and combined with alcohol, the aromatic oil extracted from the bark of the shrub makes a soothing and mildly astringent lotion. Today it has many uses, including relieving inflammation and sunburn, reducing skin irritations and treating hemorrhoids. Witch hazel is easy to grow. The shrub or small tree has arching branches generally growing as a dense, multi-stemmed clump. They can reach 30 feet high and 15 feet wide at maturity and are more often referred to as a tree owing to their size. The plant sets out pretty yellow ribbon-like flowers in the fall or early winter that are fragrant. These beautiful tissue paper-like flowers are generally blooming when nothing else is flowering. Most years, mine blooms in January or February. Growing witch hazel is easy since it requires very little care. They like part shade as they are considered an under-story plant, but full sun forms fuller, more symmetrical plants. It loves most any soil type but the long-lived witch hazel performs best on moister sites. It tolerates wet soils, pollution, shade and poor soil. As a bonus, it is a native plant. With the emphasis on native plants these days, this is a good one to add to your landscape. PL
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