Winter Blooms -- Witch Hazel Jelena

I can't say it's my favorite Witch Hazel, but it's certainly the first to bloom.  

Hamamelis x intermidia 'Jelena' --  Witch Hazel

Witch Hazels offers striking winter color with bright, gloriously fragrant blooms when most other plants are dormant. The small but showy frost-proof flowers open on leafless branches, and clusters of narrow petals last for several weeks. Jelena has an unfortunate tendency to hold onto old brown leaves which take away from the blooms, especially when young and the blooms are lost against the dead leaf backdrop.  In our garden Jelena blooms at least a month before the brighter yellow cultivars such as 'Arnold's Promise'  and the orange to red flowing types have the best red fall leaf colors.   An extract from the bark is used as an astringent, and on bruises and sprains. Take care where you plant, for Witch Hazel grows 8 to 15 feet high and can look fairly scruffy in the summer. Add organic matter to soil when planting, and mulch to keep the soil cool and moist.