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Resources < Wildlife Habitats < Native Plants < Native Plant Database < Fothergilla major
Fothergilla’s spring flowers have no petals. The showy parts of these airy, honey-scented bottlebrushes are the numerous long white stamens. A beautiful way to complement fothergilla’s blooms is to plant this shrub in a border fronted by white foamflower. This combination is especially effective along the edge of a curving path under pines. Provide a dark backdrop of rhododendron to make the white bottlebrushes appear even more luminescent.
The dark background will also be useful for playing up fothergilla’s dazzling display of fall color. The leaves turn an eye-popping array of shades, from butter yellow and pumpkin orange to salmon, coral, and fire engine red. For the most intense color riot, site your fothergilla in full sun or the kind of high, dappled shade provided by pines. Though the leaves still color in heavier shade, their hues tend to be a bit more subdued.
Hamamelidaceae (Witch Hazel Family)
Large deciduous shrub with blue-green oval-shaped leaves up to 4" long. Fragrant white bottlebrush-like flowers appear in spring with the new leaves. Tiny brown dry seeds are available in fall. Fall color is showy yellow, orange, and red.
6 to 10’ tall; not quite as wide as tall.
Large, rounded, dense shrub.
Slow.
Full sun to part shade.
Plant in fall or early spring in moist, well-drained, acid soils rich in organic matter. Mulch with 3" of pine straw or pine bark and water 1" per week during summer droughts.
Attributes include fragrant white flowers in spring, blue-green summer foliage, and a kaleidoscope of colors in fall.
Use in borders, masses, and foundation plantings.
Seeds are eaten by a variety of birds and small mammals.
Found in dry woods in the Piedmont and mountains.
Softwood cuttings, root cuttings. Seed requires a warm treatment of 12 months followed by a period of cold.
Text and photo by Leslie Kimel, Georgia Wildlife Federation
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Large Fothergilla
