Parks, Recreation & Leisure

Parks, Recreation & Leisure / Parks & Forestry

Tree Talk

Landscaping Tips | Plant of the Month | Tree Talk

Winter Color
Winter in Ohio can drag on but there is hope. Witchhazel is in full spectacular (for February) bloom and I can sit in my living room window and admire one. This woody shrub is overlooked in the nursery trade because it falls out of flower well before most people make their annual spring trips to the garden stores. The blooms vary in color from yellow (Arnold Promise, Sunburst) to copper orange (Jelena) to red (Diane). Hybrids of Japanese and Chinese witchhazel (Hamamelis x intermedia) give the best floral display but the Ohio natives vernal and common witchhazel are also nice plants. Common witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana) blooms in mid October to early December and has a delightful fragrance to complement the yellow color of the fall foliage.

My Sunburst witchhazel produced a few flowers in the January thaw this year but it reliably goes into full bloom the first week of February. The flowers last for three to four weeks and their lemon yellow color shows up well against red brick. The red flowering Diane would be a nice choice for fronting stucco or stone.

If one simply cannot wait until February for some winter color in the garden I would recommend the Tatarian Dogwood (Cornus alba). This plant has stems that turn blood red in the wintertime. Cornus sericea (Redosier Dogwood) also has both red and yellow stemmed cultivars which are striking against a backdrop of snow. The Coral Embers Willow (Salix 'Britzensis') has eyepopping orange red stems on new growth but must be pruned vigorously to maintain its yearly winter beauty.

Japanese Maples are also not without significant winter beauty, particularly Sango Kaku. The young stems on this tree have a brilliant coral color and the tree can eventually reach twenty feet in height. My favorite of all however is Acer pensylvanicum 'Erythrocladum' or the red stemmed version of the Snake Bark Maple. The regular Snake Bark Maple has green bark with white striations. Erythrocladum has yellow summer bark with the white striations and the stems turn brilliant coral red in the fall. This tree is an understory tree and does best out of direct sunlight. I found it at www.forestfarm.com alongside almost every other plant that I have ever heard of. Before I die I have to visit Williams, Oregon to see how Forest Farm does it.

If you are thinking of any changes to your garden consider a visit to the nursery in March. It is helpful to see how beautiful some plants can be in late winter.

Parks & Forestry Division
Parks & Recreation Department
City of Upper Arlington
3600 Tremont Road
Upper Arlington, OH 43221
Phone: 614-583-5340