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Can you identify this tree? #871964

Asked June 06, 2024, 8:47 PM EDT

I bought this tree as a sapling a “few” years ago. It was labeled by the nursery as an “ornamental pear.” Over the years, it has never produced a single flower, nor obviously any fruit. I’ve been asked by many admiring passersby what kind of tree it is, and I’ve never really been certain - given its lack of flower production - if it really is an ornamental pear. What do you think?

Kent County Michigan

Expert Response

Hello Claudia,

Those look more like witchhazel leaves than pear leaves. Witchhazels do flower. Vernal Witchhazels (Hamamelis vernalis) are actually the first shrub to flower in the spring, sometimes in January if the weather is warm. The flowers are small and hidden along the stem. Read more here: https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=263016&isprofile=0&cv=4

Or it could be the common witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiania) which flowers in the fall. Read more here: https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=281023&isprofile=1&basic=Hamamelis%20virginiana

No wonder passersby comment on the shrub. It looks lovely.

Thank you for contacting Ask Extension.


An Ask Extension Expert Replied June 08, 2024, 4:10 PM EDT

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