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Witch hazel pruning?

12 years ago

I have a common witch hazel (H. virginiana) that I planted as a teeny little stalk in the autumn of 2007. What with my having a baby and now very demanding toddler and my husband's back to back deployments, all thoughts of pruning for the best form went entirely by the wayside.

The tree is planted in a perennial garden bed and intended to provide some shade onto the front porch and kitchen window. I'm not fussy if it's in a standard tree form or more bushy. It's just about the height now that it's providing some nice shade in the morning. The house faces east and it's planted in front of the house.

But I am concerned that it has two main trunks that split barely a few inches off the ground.

Would the split be cause for concern or should I take one of the leaders off now? The taller leader is, of course, the one that's at a greater angle.

View from the walkway:

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Close up of the split from the same angle:

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View from the opposite side (ignore the ball in the plants off the the left and the funny looking stuff on the ground is biodegradable easter grass and some decaying newsprint used for weed-suppression):

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Closeup of the split from the same angle as above:

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Comments (4)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
if you like it the way it is .. and that is key ...

then fix it IF and WHEN it breaks ...

that may never happen ...

if on the other hand it was bugging you.. then go at it ...

thanks him for HIS service.. and you for your support of such ...

semper fi, or the proper equivalent ..

ken

ps: as a stay at home dad.. my best wisdom is ... give it up .. when you cant find a way to outsmart someone who carps in their pants ... good luck with the crumb muncher also .... [yeah.. it might take you a few days.. but sooner or later you can figure it out.. lol]
widdringtonia
Original Author
12 years ago
Many thanks for the reply, Ken. I'll just leave it then. I rather like the non-conformity and as long as it's not going to cause any immediate or near term structural concerns, I will enjoy it as it is.

The crumb muncher (actually he's more fond of clover, dandelions, grass and sundry herbs I have planted around the garden) is a delight, but oh so energetic.
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No offense taken, hoe_hoe_hoe. It's about twelve years old. And you know the old saying about the growth of plants--they sleep, they creep and they leap. In other words, they grow very slowly at first and then--watch out. I had seen Arnold Promise at the Arnold Arboretum here in Boston so I knew it got big tho it didn't happen for several years. But I wanted it for a specific spot against the south side of my house where there isn't much room. Hence, the necessity of hard pruning. One interesting thing I forgot. The very first time I ever saw Arnold Promise was at a friend's house. She had one espaliered against the front of her dark-brown house. It was quite striking. I've never seen that treatment before or since. It seemed happy, tho labor-intensive.
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Unless you bought a seedling of a species such as Virginia witchhazel it is liable to be grafted. Here we see Chinese and hybrid witchhazels grafted onto Virginia witchhazel, which can be quite diligent about sending up its own shoots, which have to be cut out every year in order to maintain control. Its leaves are thinner and less hairy than those of the garden forms grafted upon it, its shoots more slender. And if you mistakenly leave these in place, eventually they start to produce the species' smaller flowers - in October - a definite hint that you are harboring rootstock branches.
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
12 years ago
It may be your confusion/concern relates to some issues with terminology :-)

Witch hazels, Hamamelis species, are really considered to be shrubs, not trees. Multiple stems/trunks originating at ground level or occurring very close to ground level are not at all uncommon - in fact, are pretty characteristic of the plant. Much harder to locate a specimen that has anything resembling a clear trunk. No leaders ('leaders' are not associated with shrubs and are even limited to occurrence on certain types of trees). This low splitting/branching seldom creates any structural problems so no need to remove,

Pruning on witch hazels is seldom required or needed except to remove any suckering growth emerging from below the graft on any grafted forms.
Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
12 years ago
First of all, I'm a vet and thank you for being there for your husband. I noticed early on the successful troops were successful in large part because of their spouses. Hang in there, I can see better days ahead. I thank both of you.

Second, excellent pictures and neat bed.

Third, Hamamelis are commonly multi-trunked and part of their charm is their interesting branch character out of leaf.

Dan

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