These red-hot evergreen landscape plants are experiencing a surge of popularity, and it's no wonder! Distylium are easy-to-care-for broadleaved evergreens that bring marvelous texture to gardens in growing zones 7 to 9.
Distantly related to Witch Hazel, these Winter Hazels grow well in mild winters and hot summers. Modern plant breeders have been hard at work to create a beautiful collection of Distylium!
Distylium Selection Guide
Low-growing hedges, property definition, garden filler, backdrops, or year-round colorful edging, Distylium would blend into the background and become invisible to notice were it not for their gorgeous color-changing foliage and unique blossoms! The winter blooms are red and appear at a great time for pollinators to enjoy.
You'll either appreciate their sculptural, free-form growth habit in your shrub borders or keep them pruned to shape and make a dynamic foundation plant. Use the graceful, mounding form of this low-growing spreader as a mass planting. Clip them into formal hedges, or keep them as a living sculpture with red flowers in winter.
Wonderful alternatives to Boxwood, Holly, and Privet, check out the many varieties available at Nature Hills:
- Bayou Bliss® Distylium - A 3-4 foot tall and wide shrub with rows of evenly paired leaves that thrives in the heat and humidity of the Southern US. A great alternative to Boxwood, the colorful new growth ages to a cool blue-green.
- First Editions® Coppertone Distylium - Featuring large, blue-green foliage, spreading adds colorful, coppery new growth in spring. Red, strappy flowers decorate the winter season. Best of all, adaptable Coppertone is seriously low-maintenance!
- First Editions® Vintage Jade Distylium - brings glossy blue-green evergreen foliage on arching branches. You'll also have a winter display of showy maroon blooms for living holiday decorations.
- Add First Editions® Linebacker Distylium - for vertical height and a broad-leaved evergreen privacy screen. Linebacker is an easy-care selection that performs well in full sun or partial shade. They also tolerate both periodic drought and dampness.
- Blue Cascade® Evergreen Distylium - is known for its perky blue-green leaves with silvery backsides that blush from red to burgundy from January to March! More cold-hardy than other Distylium, the matte leaves tend to absorb light, which makes its color purer and clearer, giving it a multi-layered effect. The Blue Cascades® branches grow horizontally in a layered habit, which will give your garden a fuller, denser, more interesting blanket of foliage.
- Cast in Bronze® Distylium - emerges a bronzy pink in the spring and has arching branches full of alternating foliage that matures a variegated green and white. In winter, when the red blossoms appear, the entire shrub takes on a bronzy hue for the cooler months!
- First Editions® Swing Low® Distylium - A unique offering compared to all the other selections in that it has smaller and more delicate foliage. Shiny and dark green leaves are fine-textured and beautiful. The broadleaf evergreen leaves have a bluish cast, and they are very densely arranged all along the stems, so the plants offer a classic look.
- First Editions® Cinnamon Girl® Distylium - is a landscape workhorse with year-round blue-green broadleaf evergreen leaves, cinnamon accents to the foliage, and the winter flush of rosy red flowers. Cinnamon Girl® then shows off when the new leaves emerge plum-purple!
Distylium Tips For Care
These are widely adaptable shrubs that handle both full sun and partial shade. Plant in any kind of well-drained soil, but Distylium can be planted in a low-lying area that stays wet periodically.
Provide a regular amount of water while your plants are young. After their roots are established, these shrubs become drought-tolerant. Apply an all-purpose, slow-release fertilizer in spring. Follow the directions on the label.
Prune in late winter to shape your shrub. Follow the line of the shrub for the best results. Remove damaged or crossing branches. Once it is fully mature, you can remove a few of the older stems to the ground as a renewal pruning every other year or so. The thinner, younger stems will have the best color.
While deer don't tend to bother this plant much, we do recommend that you apply deer repellent on new plants. In areas with heavy deer pressure, they get very hungry and curious. Reapply according to the instructions.
Choose Your Distylium Today!
Nature Hills Nursery delivers commercial landscape-grade plant materials across the continental United States. Please hurry to place your order for your favorite because we sell out quickly every year. Place your order at any time, and we'll ship your Winter Hazel plant when the time is right for planting in your area!
If you're wondering where to buy Winter Hazel plants, you've come to the right place!
Happy Planting!
