You're in luck -- Fairweather gardens in NJ has a huge selection of witch hazels this fall, including several different varieties of h. vernalis! See the link below. the asian varieties, h. mollis and h. x intermedia, are not fully hardy in zone 5 unless well-protected, and planting in the fall, you risk losing it to root rot if the ground stays wet -- witch hazels have rather sensitive root systems. I've got an h. vernalis 'Sandra' that's in a container that's too small, took a beating in the dry summer, got knocked over for a few days while I was away, and still sets buds. It's about 6 ft. now, after a year and a half, and I haven't had to prune it yet. This is one tough tree. I agree that h. vernalis doesn't have as showy or fragrant flowers as the asian varieties, but it does have great fall foliage, and the spring growth starts out purplish. The straight species h. mollis is supposed to be the most fragrant, with some of the hybrids like 'Arnold's Promise' close behind. In all cases it's a light, clean fragrance, not a heavy perfume, but hey, you can't be too picky for flowers in the middle of winter! Pretty much all witch hazels are spreaders, so if your space is tight vertically, you may very well be better off with a fothergilla major, which tops out at about 6ft, has pretty, scented white flowers in early spring, and excellent fall foliage. It's also tighter and more compact in habit than the witch hazels. If Fairweather is too pricey (keep in mind their plants are much larger and fuller than what Forestfarm usually ships), you can also try Roslyn Gardens for witch hazel and fothergilla selections. Good luck; I think these are great, underused shrubs! Jim Here is a link that might be useful: Fairweather Gardens

Ooh! Thanks for the tips. I've definitely got to figure out where to plant them. I see the Polly Hill Arboretum link runktrun provided above says the Ozarks one enjoys alkaline soil- ours is very neutral which is nice, but should I put lime down twice a year for this plant? While my plants are pretty small, I made a note to prune the molis for best results. Diggingthedirt: I like the two ideas of planting in front of evergreens and in a location where they can be backlit. 'Gardening by the Yard' on HGTV had a whole show on lighting up your garden with plants that catch the light. What a concept! I may have a great spot that is the best of both worlds, near an evergreen with back lighting from the south west, when the sun goes down. I also saw that the zone 6 'Wisley Supreme' might drop its flowers in a harsh late winter. Some places on my property are zone 5, and because of wind breaks etc., some areas are zone 6, so I will have to consider this carefully.

I just bought one yesterday from Christianson's Nursery in Skagit County. The label states it grows to 12 feet tall though. Mine is a Hamamelis vernalis and the tag doesn't specify if it's a Sandra or anything else. I believe these are fairly slow growing. The aforementioned Greer Gardens states that hamamelis vernalis "can" reach heights of 6-10Â. I would assume this would be under ideal conditions, so too shady, too wet, too dry, etc. will probably affect the growth rate and there's always pruning! I can't wait to plant mine-need to make a raised bed to keep it out of the really wet winter ground. Found it was hard to find much info about it, but have gleaned that they are the hardiest and are more fragrant than others. Can't wait to have natural hummingbird food too for our winter residents since it blooms in the winter. Hummingbirds are the sole reason I decided on the witch hazel, but the shape, fall color, part shade tolerant and fragrance are all bonuses! Christianson's Nursery said that typically they get in more witch hazels in August. They go quickly in the winter I'm told from different nurseries, so if you've still had no luck in getting the right one for you, maybe someone will have it in a few months. Mine has no purple, but also has no new growth. Just a nice green leafed shrub about 2 1/2' tall. Was $30. Summerson's Nursery (Skagit County) has Arnold's Promise and other varieties for $50, though they're larger. I can't remember what the tag said, but claimed it got way too tall for what I want. I asked about it and they said they've never seen witch hazels that tall. They were very surprised it was labeled so tall. I don't know, maybe the tags put the highest possible height they could achieve? Good luck and hope I've been helpful.

All, thanks for the comments. I didn't notice any fragrance...I'm not one to notice on any plant though. More of visual guy vs scent. I got this from Rarefind and it didn't have any retained leaves. Although I've heard of some complain about retained leaves on H. vernalis, they don't retain leaves here. The Asian hybrids retained leaves and don't get any fall color here. Plus they only flower during mild winters and have dinky flowers. Ron, are you saying this is a possible H. vernalis hybrid? I wouldn't say the flowers are dinky by any means, then again I don't get to see the best of the Asian hybrids outside my area. Bogturtle, check out the link below regarding leaf retention. Diane is listed as one of the worst for leaf retention. Leaf Retention "This time of year a question that often appears on our blog is which cultivars are best for not retaining their leaves? Unfortunately, some cultivars of witch hazel tend to hold their leaves from the previous fall thus masking the spring flowers. This does not appear to be solely to be a condition of genetics, but also might have to do with weather condition, soil conditions, and possibly the species of witch hazel on which it was grafted." - The Scott Arboretum