An effective way to inject colour and character into the barren winter garden is to grow shrubs and trees that have exciting stems during the cold months. Some are simply on show because their leaves have dropped, while others develop incredible colour as a reaction to the low temperatures.
The most eccentric of the lot is the corkscrew hazel (Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’), which has wonderful spiralling branches. Resembling a mass of curled serpents, it looks like a tree bewitched. In early spring, it is hung with catkins, before heart-shaped green leaves unfurl; but this oddity is at its most glorious in winter, when the knotted stems stand out, bare, against the winter sky. It was discovered in a hedge in Gloucestershire in 1863 by plantsman Henry Reynolds-Moreton, 3rd Earl of Ducie, and, subsequently, propagated. One of the first offspring was given to the late gardener and writer E. A. Bowles, who planted it in his garden at Myddelton House in Middlesex and helped to popularise it. Describing the plant as ‘a tangle of crooks and corkscrews from root to tip’, it became one of the key specimens in an area of his garden known as ‘the Lunatic Asylum’, which was reserved for the barmiest-looking plants he could find. The twisted hazel found even more fame in the early 20th century when music-hall comedian Harry Lauder began using a curly branch of it as a cane. Still today, one of the plant’s common names is Harry Lauder’s walking stick.
Winter stems to grow for twisted shapes
The corkscrew hazel is a large deciduous shrub or small tree, which rarely produces nuts. It can be grown in a large pot initially, since it is slow-growing; eventually, it should be planted out in well-drained neutral to alkaline soil, in sun or semi-shade, where it can grow to 4 metres or more. ‘Twister’ is a dwarf form of the contorted hazel, which is better suited to a container or small garden, and ‘Red Majestic’ is a fabulous full-sized version with burgundy leaves and pink-purple catkins. All natural mutations of common hazel, these three twisted hazels will often produce straight sucker stems at the base of the plant, which should be removed with a sharp pair of secateurs.
Other tortured trees to consider include the twisted willow, Salix x sepulcralis ‘Erythroflexuosa’, which has colourful young branches. When exposed during winter, these resemble a mass of frizzy red hair that glows incredible shades of amber and scarlet if planted in moist soil in full sun. It will grow to around 5 metres. Another Curly Wurly tree for the large garden is the contorted lime (linden), Tilia platyphyllos ‘Tortuosa', which can scale 12 metres and has a pyramid shape and yellow autumn leaves, as well as upright, coiled stems that loop and cross like sailor’s knots.
Winter stems to grow for colour
Dogwoods (Cornus) are the kings of the winter garden, with stems that blaze such magnificent colours, they look as if they have been painted. Both Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’ and Baton Rouge glow sealing-wax red during the frosty months, while C. sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’ and ‘Anny’s Winter Orange’ produce coral, gold, orange, and red tones. Garden designers love the plum-black C. alba ‘Kesselringii’, but it only works when grown in front of a colour that highlights its dark stems, such as Euonymus fortune ‘Silver Queen’ or the lime-green dogwood C. sericea ‘Flaviramea’. In neutral to acid retentive soil, these dogwoods reach around 2 metres. They produce the boldest winter colour when grown in full sun and coppiced (cut back hard) once established (do it every year or every other year, in spring). The stems of larger dogwoods can be cut to decorate the house over the festive period, while young plants fare well in pots of ericaceous compost and – if underplanted with cyclamen or snowdrops – are an easy way to brighten up a doorway.
Also spectacular on acid soil is the coral-bark Japanese maple, Acer palmatum ‘Sango-kaku’, which has bare red and pink stems during the icy months; ‘Winter Flame’ is similar, but more compact. Gardeners on neutral to alkaline soil can enjoy the moosewood maple A. pensylvanicum ‘Erythrocladum’, which boasts white-striped red bark and pink shoots.
For moist conditions, there are several willows that light up the bleak months with a punk-hair explosion of colourful stems. Scarlet willow, Salix alba var. vitellina ‘Britzensis’, is one of the best, with the orange and red ‘Yelverton’ and the yellow-stemmed ‘Golden Ness’ also good choices. All can grow into 10-metre trees, but, in most gardens, they are best grown as shrubs by being cut down to around 30cm every spring. They are especially breathtaking beside water, which will reflect their fiery colour and provide them with the moisture they crave.
The copper-stemmed lime (linden) tree, Tilia cordata ‘Winter Orange’, is a better choice for a dry or exposed position, and the fox-red wineberry bush (Rubus phoenicolasius) is ideal for a sheltered sunny spot. A productive plant in summer, the wineberry is coated with leaves and tasty raspberry-like fruit; but it is highly ornamental in winter, when the bristly rust-coloured stems are on show. In a small garden, it is best against a fence or wall, where its scrambling habit can be contained.
Winter plants to grow for white stems
Distant cousins of the wineberry are the brambles that pale to ghostly shades of white and grey in the cold months and therefore look enchanting when grown in front of dark evergreens or stonework, where space permits. At Stanmer Park in Brighton, an arching mass of white-stemmed bramble (Rubus cockburnianus) has a spectral beauty in front of the church and its gravestones and yew trees during winter. This seasonal colouring is produced by a powdery substance on the surface of the stems known as ‘bloom’. The variety R. cockburnianus ‘Goldenvale’ is perhaps the most desirable form, producing yellow leaves in spring, which take on lime shades in summer. Close relatives with similar silvery-white bloom on their winter stems include R. biflorus and R. thibetanus. All reach 1 to 3 metres in well-drained soil and perform best if cut to 30cm above the ground every spring.
Also responsive to coppicing is the lovely blue-stemmed willow, Salix irrorata, which has white bloom on its stems and furry catkins in March. ‘It is the willow I enjoy most for its winter stems,’ wrote the late garden designer Rosemary Verey, ‘(it) takes on an almost ethereal appearance, especially in fading winter light.’
All of these stems are a delight in the garden and can be cut for the vase to light up the house during the winter months.
