ABSTRACT
Hamamelis are large shrubs or small trees providing a beautiful late autumn or winter flowering display. They are restricted to the northern hemisphere and occur in eastern Asia and eastern North America with a small disjunct population in Mexico. The numerous cultivars can be propagated with difficulty by cuttings, and grafting is still the main method of propagation. The suckering habit of Hamamelis means that none of them are the perfect rootstock. To avoid this disadvantage, grafters have looked at other genera in the Hamamelidaceae family. Summer grafting invariably involves side grafting, either short or long tongue veneers. Some grafters favour the use of a single bud scion, often cut as a chip bud. Winter grafting of Hamamelis can sometimes be disrupted by rootstocks of some strains of H. virginiana which retain their dead leaves until grafting time, as these need to be removed the whole procedure is slowed down.
