Witch hazel is not demanding to cultivate. The plant best suits the fertile soil, loose and permeable, but not drying too quickly.Therefore, once a year it is worth sprinkling a layer of humus from the bark 5-10 centimeters thick around the trunk.
It helps the substrate to retain water, air and heat, and also increases its nutrient storage capacity.Fertilize witch hazel with mature compost or horn shavings in the spring after flowering or with phosphorus fertilizer at the end years.
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Good neighborhood for witch hazel
Witch hazel shows its best decorative qualities when it grows as a solitary shrub, distant from other plants.Sometimes, you can risk combining this elegant shrub with other species in varied mixed arrangements.However, these cannot be plants of your choice.
Witch hazel is a sensitive shrub with a root system that does not tolerate the competition of its neighbors. Particular care should be taken with young, recently planted or transplanted specimens.
Strong trees and shrubs with a shallow root system, such as Betula birch, Acer negundo ash maple or Philadelphus jasmine, are not suitable for close neighbors of witch hazel.Do not plant heavily expanding ground cover plants around the trunk of the witch hazel, such as Hedera ivy, Cotoneaster cotoneaster or low bamboo bamboo species.
On the other hand, it is worth recommending plants whose proximity to witch hazel will not hurt, including early flowering bulbs, such as snowdrops, crocuses and squill.
Evergreen cover under shrubs can be formed by the common hoof Asarum europaeum, Arabis procurrens and Gaulttheria procumbens. Older, well-entrenched witch hazel can be accompanied by the hellebore, the three-leaf broad-leaved Tricyrtis latifolia, the Leucothoe bundle, the small-leaved funkies such as Hosta lancifolia 'Red October', and the autumn aconite Aconitum carmichaelii 'Arendsii'.
