The propagation of the relatively easy-care witch hazel is not very easy and requires certain knowledge and a lot of patience. You should only attempt this task if you are an experienced gardener. Otherwise, it is better to buy a suitable young plant.
The witch hazel can be propagated by cuttings, for example
Is witch hazel easy to grow from seed?
The witch hazel can only be grown from seeds with great effort. It belongs to the cold germs, but has to go through the so-called stratification (a cold treatment) twice. Collect some seeds from your witch hazel before the seed ripens and place them in a container with moist growing medium. Put this container in the fridge over the winter or bury it in the garden.
The container then also spends the following summer in the garden, but in a shady place. This is followed by another winter in the cold. During all this time, however, the substrate must not dry out.
The seeds are ready to germinate the following spring. As you can see, the whole procedure requires a lot of patience until you can plant a witch hazel in your garden.
How do I propagate my witch hazel?
You can propagate your witch hazel with cuttings as early as February if you stimulate the plant to sprout prematurely, or in late summer if you prefer this time. The cuttings brought forward in February require relatively high humidity and should be placed in a heated greenhouse. Most of the time, such witch hazel plants remain smaller than others.
The easiest way to propagate witch hazel is to sprout a pliable healthy shoot. Free part of this shoot from its leaves and cover it with soil. The tip should stick out about 20 cm from the ground.
To keep the sinker in the ground, you can weigh it down with a stone or fix it with a tent peg. A small cut on the underside of the buried shoot will facilitate root formation.
The best propagation tips for witch hazel:
- Difficult to sow, only recommended for experienced gardeners
- Witch hazel grown from cuttings often remain small
- simplest way of propagation: sinkers
tips
If you want to multiply your witch hazel, the best thing to do is to try layering.