''Fothergilla gardenii'', also known by the common names witch alder,Brickell, Christopher "The Royal Horticultural Society A-Z of Garden Plants (Volume 1: A-J)", 3rd ed. Copyright 1996, 2003, 2008 Dorling Kindersley Ltd., London. pp. 452-453 dwarf fothergilla,Hogan, Sean, chief consultant. 2003, 2004. "Flora A Gardener's Encyclopedia", Global Nook Publishing Pty Ltd, Timber Press. . pp. 608 American wych hazel,Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. (hardback), (paperback). pp 169, 175 and dwarf witchalder is a deciduous shrub in the

Hamamelidaceae Hamamelidaceae, commonly referred to as the witch-hazel family, is a family of flowering plants in the order Saxifragales. The clade consists of shrubs and small trees positioned within the woody clade of the core Saxifragales. An earlier syste ...

family. It is one of two species in the genus ''

Fothergilla ''Fothergilla'' (witch alder) is a genus of two to four species of flowering plants in the family Hamamelidaceae, native to woodland and swamps of the southeastern United States. They are low-growing deciduous shrubs growing to tall with downy ...

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Description

*Type: Slow-growing deciduous shrub. *Height/spread: Max height and spread is 0.9 m (3 ft) to 1 m (3 ft). *Leaves: Dark green, alternate leaves emerge in spring and range in shape from oval to obovate. Sizes up to 6 cm (2.5 in) in length, with irregularly toothed margins. Striking autumn colors, including bright red, crimson, orange, and yellow. *Inflorescences: Terminal cylindrical spikes to 4 cm (1.5 in) are borne in spring, before the leaves emerge. **Flowers: Small, white, petal-less, highly fragrant. Conspicuous filaments are 2.5 cm (1 in) long.

Distribution

Native to the southeastern USA, from North Carolina to Alabama.

Cultivation

*Hardiness: Fully hardy, to -29 °C (-20 °F). USDA zones 5-9. *Cultivation: Prefers full sun or partial shade and humus-rich, well-drained soil which is kept moist. Full sun gives the best autumn color. Does well in woodland gardens or shrub borders. *Propagation: **Seed Sow seed outdoors in a cold frame or seedbed in autumn or winter. Seed typically germinates the second spring after sowing. Fresh seed works best. **Cuttings Take softwood cuttings in summer and root them in a mist unit. **Layering: ***Air Layering Air layer in summer. ***Simple Layering Can be propagated by layering. *Pests and Diseases: Trouble free.

Cultivars

The cultivar 'Blue Mist' is grown for its glaucous blue-green foliage.

Etymology

''Fothergilla'' is named for Dr. John Fothergill (1712-1780) of Stratford,

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

, a physician and introducer of American plants. ''Gardenii'' is named for Dr.

Alexander Garden Alexander Gardens (russian: Александровский сад) was one of the first urban public parks in Moscow, Russia. The park comprises three separate gardens, which stretch along all the length of the western Kremlin wall for between ...

(1730-1791), an Anglo-American botanist and correspondent with

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his Nobility#Ennoblement, ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalise ...

References

*Thomas G. Ranney and Nathan P. Lynch, ''Clarifying Taxonomy and Nomenclature of Fothergilla (Hamamelidaceae) Cultivars and Hybrids'', HORTSCIENCE 42(3):470–473. 2007. {{Taxonbar, from=Q5473924 Hamamelidaceae Flora of North Carolina Flora of South Carolina Flora of Georgia (U.S. state) Flora of Alabama Flora of Florida