Are witch hazels grafted?

I have a HAMAMELIS x intermedia 'Rochester' from http://www.rarefindnursery.com/index.cfm/action/productdetail/product_id/4251.htm that is sending up some basal shoots. The leaves do not look exactly like the leaves further up (they are more bronze, more serrated, and pointier) and I don't know whether this is rootstock sprouting or just juvenile leaves.

Could this plant be grafted? There is a bit of an odd looking area near the base- right above the new shoots.
Here is the "maybe grafted?" area...

And the new shoots/leaves... "normal" leaves are the more green ones up top.

Certainly looks grafted, so yes, the sprouts would be the rootstock species. Not the first case of rootstock takeover I've come across in Hamamelis, happens regularly with named cultivars.

Resin

Thanks- I'll get them off.
I had a feeling this was the case- they appeared so quickly and just didn't look "right".

I love this orange flowered witch hazel to an unreasonable degree purely because I have an orange cat named "Rochester".
How could I not buy this tree ?

Too much information, I know.
:)

It's quite common and can be interesting on a Harry Lauders Walking stick as the rootstock shoots can be intermediate between the understock and the top graft. My mother let the understock shoots grow on one of her Hamamelis and now that's all that's left on a red flowering cultivar - it's just yellow flowering understock.

I've had nurserymen tell me to plant grafted cultivars deeper than the graft line to eliminate or at least reduce suckering of the undergrowth.
In fact, sometimes grafted plants arrive w/ a painted mark on the stem indicating the recommended depth of planting.
I've always been afraid of planting this deep, since it appears to be well above the 'natural' crown.
Does planting the grafted plant deep enough to keep the graft underground really reduce undergrowth suckers?

On Hamamelis, planting deeply as suggested is probably a guarantee of rootstock suckering, if not death of the plant. The only grafted woody plants that I'd believe can/should be planted "deeply" are roses, and tree peonies since they are many times grafted on herbaceous peony understock.

I'd never bury a witch hazel like that. It'd be near impossible to separate and eliminate unwanted suckering.

What should reduce understock suckering is: never buy clones grafted onto Hamamelis vernalis, and keep your witch hazel healthy and vigorous.

Thanks for the info, VV.
Reaffirms that common sense usually turns out to have merit.

VV, what is necessary to keep a witch hazel healthy? I bought one last fall and have already had to cut back a major branch that cracked when a large tree limb fell on it. So there is great incentive to keep the remaining part of the plant healthy!

Goldenberry:

Don't let large limbs fall on them.

Aside from that, the usual attention that you'd pay to a preferred plant:

•Adequate water, especially during stressful periods (post-transplanting, droughty times)
•Booster shots of balanced fertilizer to encourage decent growth, and thus decent flowering; a granular slow-release of 10-10-10 to 15-15-15 range is good
•Observe for insects or other pathogens on a regular basis, so that the plant isn't at death's door when a problem is discovered
•Watch for those potential suckering stems from below the graft, and remove immediately instead of waiting for them to be bigger than the scion

Witch hazels are not all that fussy, but up in the frigid northlands you want to get your plant off to the best start that you can.

"What should reduce understock suckering is: never buy clones grafted onto Hamamelis vernalis, and keep your witch hazel healthy and vigorous."

------------------------------------

VV, is there something that H. vernalis does as a rootstock that is a negative, or is it the plant in its entirety? I have several native H. vernalis planted around the place, and they've been a delight so far.

I'll quote Harald Neubauer (Hidden Hollow Nursery) who is the witch hazel grafter extraordinaire (along with Tim Brotzman, Brotzman's Nursery):

"If you use Hamamelis vernalis as understock, you might as well graft onto Johnsongrass."

Vernal or Ozark witch hazel is a fabulous plant in its own right. It is just not the plant to use as understock for other species, since it is so/too vigorous for its own good, and will envelop the scion and be a constant challenge to keep removing the suckers. It also overlaps in bloom time with the Asian clonal selections, so it isn't as easy to separate out especially if the flower colors are the same or similar.

Ask/demand Hamamelis virginiana for understock. The additional advantage is that common witch hazel blooms in the fall. You'll always know that it is NOT one of the H. x intermedia or H. mollis clones when it blooms.

Thanks, VV.

So this:
Hybridized/Introduced By: Fennichia
Parentage: (mollis X vernalis)

Would indicate that I have vernalis understock, right?
Why does it also say "Hamamelis x intermedia" ?

Aside from keeping a close watch and removing suckers, what is to be done at this point- I have the plant, I love the plant, I want to love it for a long time. The "Rochester" (upper) portion is growing well, flowering properly in dead winter. The suckers are easy enough to remove.

It is this one-
http://www.rarefindnursery.com/index.cfm/action/productdetail/product_id/4251.htm

mollis x vernalis would mean it's a hybrid between those two species. When you have a hybrid like that, they'll create a new species name for it and then put a x in front of it to designate that it's a hybrid. So the official name of the hybrid between H. vernalis and H. mollis is Hamemelis x intermedia. The name of a plant won't tell you anything about what the rootstock is, the grower would have to put that info on the tag separately. Or if a particular cultivar is almost always sold either on its own roots or on a particular rootstock you might be able to find that info on the internet too.

It's all too complicated- I just want to know what I have :)

Cearbhaill:

That's what you get for wantonly wanting wonderfully worldly winter whiffs of witch hazel (from the most fragrant one, ever).

So - you really want to know...see these references:

Arboretum Kalmthout (International Registrar for Hamamelis)
http://www.brammeloo.be/gallery_named.aspx
http://www.brammeloo.be/cultivar_registerd.aspx

Chris Lane, author of Witch Hazels (Timber Press, 2005)
http://www.witchhazelnursery.com/PHOTO%20LIBRARY.htm
http://www.witchhazelnursery.com/CHECKIST.htm

The clonal selection 'Rochester' should rightly be listed as Hamamelis 'Rochester', since hybrids from H. mollis × H. vernalis have no given hybrid specific epithet yet that I've seen published.

But none of this will tell you the understock (as ecrane notes).

ecrane:

The website for this nursery has this hybrid parentage listed incorrectly (which happens even to the best occasionally). Hamamelis × intermedia is the name for hybrids originating from H. japonica × H. mollis. There are many of these (see the links provided), including popular selections like 'Jelena', 'Diane', and 'Arnold Promise'.

Belated thanks, VV, for your words of advice!

Alas, the large trees near my baby witch hazel are old cottonwoods that do not belong to me. If they did, they would have been chopped down by now.

The shrub is otherwise very healthy. I guess I'll just have to patiently watch and wait while it recovers from its injury and grows . As we gardeners do. :)