Arts & Leisure Gardening

Ask a Master Gardener: The bewitching witch hazel tree

Witch hazel with its clusters of vibrant, four-petaled, spidery flowers is sure to brighten any garden when in bloom. Photo by Deborah J. Benoit

You may be familiar with its name from the bottle of astringent found in your home medicine cabinet or for sale on pharmacy shelves near rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide. What you may not know is that the leaves, bark and twigs from American witch hazel, a small native tree, are used in the manufacture of this product.