Chinese Witch Hazel

I planted a Hamamelis mollis "pallida" three years ago. It is very healthy, in clay and builders rubble, on a flat spot in a east facing slope. Gets windy in winter. Both years it has bloomed as advertised in late winter. The problem is the leaves did not fall off, so what is seen is not pretty yellow flowers, but huge brown dead leaves hanging on the shrub, which do not fall off until new growth gets going..Of course the last two winters were bizarre, so maybe that is the problem. Does anyone have this little tree around here? can I expect this every year? Should I rip it out and plant something else?

I think the leaves falling off is partly based on the plant and partly based on the weather conditions (wind and rain are more likely to clear it off). Hamamelis does very well around these parts and the blossoms in the spring are rewarding. But if you've observed this for several years, I don't think it's going to change . .

Before you tear it out, why not try stripping it of leaves sometime before it flowers, like some folks do to roses? No harm if you're going to ditch it anyway.

I think I will give it another year before I give up. I have considered stripping the leaves, which would be easy now at 4 feet tall, but how would I do it when it is full grown at 20 feet.

It may be that when it gets higher up, the elements and/or critters will take care of some of that. I suppose it's not impossible that a more mature plant would learn to 'let go' of spent leaves. I think it's a good idea to wait awhile . . .

Finally- an answer that may help. I have been researching this on the internet. Some places describe the pretty winter flowers on the leafless branches, a few refer to problems with retained leaves. I have been going to nurseries and asking, without anyone seeming to know anything. It is bloom time right now, so today I went to Flower World, (their "Pallida" in pots have leaves too, though the 5 foot tall standards "Arnold Promise" looked fine. But again nobody seemed to know why, or if it is fixable. Then I went to MOLBAKS. A very knowledgeable fellow said Hamamelis is known for having this problem- it usually means NOT ENOUGH WATER IN THE SUMMER, so the leaves do not mature properly. In fact he had one that did this, the problem was solved when he increased summer watering. Yay.