Winter hazel in zone 10a - mistake?

Forestcat

Yamadori
Messages
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Location
N Cal
USDA Zone
10
I bought a winter hazel without doing enough research. Will zone 10a get cold enough in winter to produce spring flowers at the right time? I plan to protect it from summer heat.
 
Witch hazel needs winter chill to achieve full flowering. For best results, temperatures must be under 45 degrees for a certain number of hours. While an evergreen background makes their color more visible, avoid planting in too much shade or the plant becomes straggly and flowers will suffer. They flower better when planted under deciduous trees so they are exposed to winter sun.

The search terms to use are “winter chill” or “chill hours” or “chill requirement”
 
Short answer, plant's probably not going to live long. Witch Hazel (which includes winter hazel) is generally considered hardy to Zone 5-8. One variety is more heat tolerant to Zone 9. Zone 10 is going to be challenging. Look for the plant to live for a few years, gradually weakening and then dying. Your mileage may vary but Zone 10 is almost tropical. The plant has "winter" in its name for a reason...
 
I bought a winter hazel without doing enough research. Will zone 10a get cold enough in winter to produce spring flowers at the right time? I plan to protect it from summer heat.
Wasn't it's name enough research ;)
 
Wasn't it's name enough research ;)
I was swept away in the moment. The tree is now in Washington state. Hopefully, it can survive the 100 degree + summer days. I will be interested to see how the bonsai community copes with the future unpredictable weather.
 
Sorry, gave it to my son-in-law.
 
Winter hazel (Corylopsis) is a different species and not the same thing as witch hazel (Hamamelis), despite being "hazels".

I will not pretend to be the 🤓 and will leave it to you to use your favorite search engine to learn the differences and any other info that might be of interest to you.
 
I was swept away in the moment. The tree is now in Washington state. Hopefully, it can survive the 100 degree + summer days. I will be interested to see how the bonsai community copes with the future unpredictable weather.
Yup.. #ClimateCrisis.
 
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