Spot suckers on witch hazel

2nd February 2021

Suckers on grafted trees and shrubs are not always obvious, but any vigorous upright growth on a normally slow-growing shrub deserves a closer look; witch hazels are always grafted (generally onto Hamamelis virginiana, the American witch hazel) so if a stem arises from the base which is tall, straight and non-flowering, nothing like the usual well-branched vase shape, cut it out ruthlessly.