Hamamelis x intermedia 'Arnold Promise' (Witch Hazel)

Hamamelis x intermedia 'Arnold Promise' is a hybrid between these two Asian species and has spectacular autumn colours followed by rich lemon yellow, sweetly scented, strap like flowers in late winter.  It was raised at the Arnold Arboretum, Massachusetts in 1963 and has established itself as one of the finest of all winter flowering plants.

Witch hazels derive their common name from water divining.  In Europe hazel twigs were traditionally used for this craft, but in the absence of any hazel plants in America, the European settlers used twigs from what we now know as Hamamelis virginiana which has a similar branch habit to our native hazels.  These became known as “Twitch Hazels”, hence the derivation of the modern common name.

Hamamelis are easy to cultivate once established but are intolerant of waterlogged sites.  They demand good drainage and, ideally, some degree of moisture in hot summers.  The best way of achieving this is with the addition of copious quantities of humus when planting and subsequent mulching.  Today there are probably over 150 cultivars of witch hazel available and Hamamelis x  intermedia 'Arnold Promise' remains one of the best!

Chimonanthus praecox (Wintersweet)

A popular semi-evergreen plant native to the woods and hills of China, Chimonanthus praecox has fantastic, sweetly scented, creamy-yellow flowers in winter on mature plants. The flowers scent is exquisite and dried flowers can be used to create home-made pot-pourri.

Chimonanthus praecox are hardy and grow perfectly well in a position with full sun or light, dappled shade. It is worth avoiding areas with heavy shade (as they grow well but don't produce many flowers) or lots of strong wind.

In our opinion, Chimonanthus should be planted in an area of the garden close to the house or garden path, for example near a back door, where the fragrance can be appreciated in the depths of winter!

The specimen plant in our arboretum is growing in significant shade under the canopy of a larger tree which has spread over the years. Really needing more sun, this wintersweet does not now have many flowers, but even so the scent can be detected from 10+ ft away on still days.

More information on Chimonanthus praecox (Wintersweet)

Malus x 'Evereste' (Crab Apple)

Malus x 'Evereste' is one of the finest small trees, especially suitable for smaller gardens. In spring, the whole tree is festooned with rich pink buds which open to ivory white flowers with a very slight fragrance. The long period of flowering makes it an ideal pollinator for most varieties of apple trees.

By late summer Malus x 'Evereste' is already covered with thousands of yellowish crab apples which become flushed red as the weather becomes cooler and in October the leaves colour to rich buttery yellow.

 
There are lots of other crab apple cultivars which also flower, fruit and have good autumn colours but the outstanding feature of 'Evereste' is that, although the fruits are relatively sweet and can be eaten, for some reason birds usually leave them alone until January before they enjoy a wintry feast.



The specimen in our garden is still covered with fruit at the moment in early Jan 2012.

Malus 'Evereste' was raised in France in 1980 and given the French (female) name of Evereste after the famous mountain. 

More Information on Malus x 'Evereste'

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1) Spring Flower - The Malus x 'Evereste' in our woodland gardens (taken in mid April 2011).

2 ) Autumn Colour - The Malus x 'Evereste' covered with masses of colourful fruit in our woodland gardens (taken in early November 2010).

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BBC Gardening blog

Catch up with the new blog written by Robert on the BBC Gardening website about winter flowering trees & shrubs in our gardens.

BBC blog on winter flowering trees and shrubs 

also of interest:

Winter flowering trees & shrubs on our nursery

Betula utilis var jacquemontii 'Doorenbos' (Himalayan Birch)

The lovely silver birch of the Himalayas are found from Afghanistan, through Northern Pakistan, Kashmir, Nepal Bhutan and into Western China.

There are many selections of Betula utilis in cultivation, all thoroughly good garden plants with superb bark colour throughout the year. Of all of them Betula utilis var jacquemontii 'Doorenbos', is one of the very whitest and has the advantage of turning white as a young plant and even has white roots if they are slightly exposed!

Plants may be grown with single trunks, or pruned hard as young plants to produce a vase-shaped multistemmed effect. Alternatively three  Betula jacquemontii are sometimes planted in the same hole to create a three trunked tree.

For optimum growth, never remove the side branches above a third of the height of the tree, i.e., when a tree is 9 feet high, don’t prune off any branches above three feet.

The specific name “utilis” refers to the usefulness of this birch, which in the wild is used as fuel and for the manufacture of everyday items, such as buttons.

On an expedition to the Eastern Himalayas in 2007 we noticed white Betula utilis stems just stuck into the side of tracks & roads being used as simple bollards to warn motorists of precipitous falls if they went off the road!

Betula utilis var jacquemontii 'Doorenbos' will benefit enormously from an annual scrub, or even better, a gentle pressure wash occasionally to really expose the beautiful bark.

Autumn Colour 2011

The autumn colour in the gardens at Bluebell Arboretum and Nursery in late October 2011.

The colour arrived very late this year, starting really only in the last week of October. However when it finally started, boy was it worth it :)

Please visit the arboretum page on our website if you are interested in further info or would like to visit the gardens.

Acer palmatum 'Osakazuki'

This famous cultivar of Japanese Maple has probably the finest, fiery red autumn colours of all the many superb varieties available.

Acer palmatum 'Osakazuki' grows into a large shrub or eventually very small tree and, like all Japanese maples, prefers a situation sheltered from the most severe winds. Acer 'Osakazuki' is more sun tolerant than some maples but appreciates a little shade if possible.

The literal translation of 'Osakazuki' is “saki-cup-like”, referring to the way that the leaves of this cultivar sometimes “cup” at their base.

Although Acer palmatum is usually known as the Japanese maple, it actually also grows in Korea and right across China into Sichuan Province in the west.

The autumn colours of many maples, especially selections of Acer palmatum is very dependent on the pH (acidity / alkalinity) of the soil. They prefer lime free soil, so here, on our almost neutral ground, we are applying an annual dressing of sulphur granules round our maples at the rate of 1 or 2 oz per square yard, to make the soil more acid, and year by year the intensity of the autumn colour increases.

The  Acer palmatum 'Osakazuki' in our gardens is around 16 years old and has reached a height of around 3m (10 ft) to 4m (13 ft) with a spread of 3m (10 ft)