# Mountain Witch Alder (Fothergilla major) > Honey-scented white bottlebrush flowers in April and leaves that turn yellow, orange and red in fall, on a rare shrub of southern mountains. Also called large fothergilla, large witch alder, Fothergilla latifolia. Category: Native Shrubs. Grown from seed by Blue Whale Trees. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/mountain-witch-alder/ ![Mountain witch alder (Fothergilla major) white bottlebrush flower spikes among new spring leaves](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/mountain-witch-alder-h1610-800.jpg) *Photo: Steve Law, CC BY-SA 2.0 ยท [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AFothergilla_major.jpg)* ## Facts - Type: Shrub - Mature height: 6 to 10 ft - USDA hardiness zones: 4 to 8 - Grows wild in: Rocky ground, the Appalachians, dry uplands and stream banks - Native range: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee - Sun: Full, Part - Soil moisture: Average - Growth rate: Slow - Traits: Showy flowers, Fall color, Rare - Sold as: Saplings, Seed Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them. ## Availability Not yet priced online. Ask at captain@bluewhaletrees.com or leave an email on the web page to be told when it is listed. ## Notes Mountain witch alder is a rounded, many-stemmed shrub of the witch hazel family whose flowers have no petals, only a brush of white stamens. It is rare wherever it grows, and NatureServe ranks it vulnerable. Georgia and Tennessee list it as a threatened plant. The NC State Extension now lists it as Fothergilla latifolia, while the USDA keeps the name Fothergilla major. Grow it at a sunny woodland edge or in a border with rhododendrons, which want the same acid soil. ## Size, growth and what to expect Mountain witch alder grows slowly, about a foot a year in our growth estimator. It makes a rounded clump of upright stems 6 to 10 feet tall and 5 to 10 feet wide. In April, as the leaves unfold, spikes 1 to 3 inches long open at the branch tips. Their color comes from white stamens with yellow anthers, and they smell of honey. Bees and butterflies visit them. In fall the leaves turn yellow, orange and red-purple. The capsules ripen in fall and burst to fling their two seeds. It grows wild from the mountains and upper Piedmont of North Carolina south to Alabama, with outlying stands in Arkansas, a recent find. Its home is bluffs, dry rocky woods, talus slopes and riverbanks, from about 500 to 4,300 feet up. ## How to grow Mountain Witch Alder Mountain witch alder flowers and colors best in full sun, and it takes part shade. Where summers are hot, morning sun with afternoon shade suits it better. It wants an acid soil, rich in organic matter, that stays moist but drains well, and its leaves yellow in limy soil. Plant it 5 feet from a wall and set plants 6 feet apart for a hedge or group. Its size lets it go within 15 feet of overhead wires. Saplings ship bare-root or potted. Plant them dormant, from leaf fall until bud swell, in a hole wider than the roots and no deeper. Set the crown at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and spread a mulch of leaves over the shallow roots, clear of the stems. Seed needs at least six months of warm, damp conditions and then three months of cold. Sow it outdoors in fall, and expect seedlings the second spring. Water weekly through the first two summers, and in any dry spell after that. Deer seldom damage it, but rabbits and voles can gnaw young stems, so guard them with wire for two winters. Prune only if needed, right after the flowers fade. Pull suckers that stray from the clump. Its flowers carry both male and female parts, so there are no male and female plants to pair. No serious insect troubles it. A leaf spot fungus found on fothergillas in South Carolina can strip plants in hot, full sun by late summer. ## Sources - [Flora of North America, vol. 3: Fothergilla major](http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233500651) - [Flora of North America, vol. 3: Fothergilla (genus)](http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=112962) - [NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Fothergilla latifolia, previously Fothergilla major](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/fothergilla-latifolia/) - [Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder: Fothergilla major](https://plantfinder.mobot.org/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=281021) - [The Morton Arboretum: Large fothergilla](https://mortonarb.org/plant-and-protect/trees-and-plants/large-fothergilla/) - [Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Fothergilla major](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=FOMA) - [Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC 1093, Joey Williamson: Fothergilla, updated 2024-08-15](https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/fothergilla/) - [Trees and Shrubs Online (International Dendrology Society): Fothergilla major, from Bean](https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/fothergilla/fothergilla-major/) - [NatureServe Explorer: Fothergilla major](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.149547/Fothergilla_major) - [Tennessee Natural Heritage Program: Rare Plant List 2025](https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/environment/natural-areas/documents/na_tn-rare-plant-list.pdf) - [Georgia Biodiversity Portal, Georgia DNR: All Rare Plants table, export 2026-07-07](https://georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/table/plants) ## Read before planting - [Ten planting mistakes that quietly kill trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/ten-planting-mistakes/index.html.md) - [Transplanting young trees: timing, water and protection](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/transplanting-young-trees/index.html.md) - [Protecting young trees from voles, rabbits, deer and squirrels](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/protecting-trees-from-animals/index.html.md) - [The habitat around a tree is part of the tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/habitat-around-a-tree/index.html.md) - [Invasive vines and shrubs are what is killing your woods](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/invasive-vines-and-shrubs/index.html.md) - [Native trees and shrubs for bees: pollen, nectar, nesting and a bloom calendar from willow to witch hazel](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-bees/index.html.md) ## Related - [Planting-site check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md): for a thrive, struggle or fail verdict on Mountain Witch Alder, add ?species=mountain-witch-alder with zone (2 to 10), sun (full, part, shade) and moisture (dry, average, wet) to that address, for example ?species=mountain-witch-alder&zone=4&sun=part&moisture=average. - [Companion species for Mountain Witch Alder](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=mountain-witch-alder): the natives that share its ground and the plants that pair with it in a yard. - [Growth estimator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md): how the height and trunk projections are made; the estimate itself runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/#species=mountain-witch-alder - [Seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md): how Mountain Witch Alder is sown, in the chart for every species (treatment, cold days, depth, timing); the dated plan runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/#species=mountain-witch-alder - [Pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md): what Mountain Witch Alder needs for a crop and how many to plant, in the table for every species; the planner runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/#plants=mountain-witch-alder:1 - [Bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md): the months Mountain Witch Alder flowers and fruits, in the grid for every species.