The rounded oval, scalloped-edged leaves are dark green, three to six inches long. Foliage is colorful in all witchhazels. You can also find cultivars of H. virginiana that drop their leaves before the flowers form. We won t guarantee it, but chances are you can have something blooming at Christmas. There's a lot of variation in bloom time from one H. niger to another.
Old foliage begins to look shabby as new leaves come in.
Prefers neutral to alkaline soils but does just fine in acid soils. Water well from spring to midsummer, then allow it a dry period in late summer, if you can. If you've ever decked a hall at Christmas, you've snipped branches of this common pyramidal evergreen. Goldie and Canary have yellow fruit, and Stewart's Silver Crown has variegated foliage. Greenish-white flower clusters appear in late spring.