The Corylopsis pauciflora is native to Japan and Taiwan and belongs to the family of the Hamamelidaceae. The genus name Corylopsis comes from the Greek, korylos means hazel and opsis means like.
The Corylopsis pauciflora produces light yellow racemes of flowers in the late winter that stand out on the bare branches. In August/September the Corylopsis pauciflora blooms for a modest second time but you can hardly see those flowers between all the leaves.
The buttercup winter hazel is a deciduous shrub that grows pretty wide. The leaves are a bit purple when they emerge. When the leaves grow further they turn green and in fall they will turn yellow and drop.
When I bought my buttercup winter hazel the card said that it would grow to about 32 inches (80 cm) in height. I had the perfect spot for it, but it turned out that the shrub grew much higher (6.5 feet (2 meters). See also the specifications) and even wider (8 feet (2.5 meters)). As I wanted to keep the Corylopsis pauciflora I decided to prune it every year to keep it small enough. That works perfectly. The buttercup winter hazel in my garden is now 5 feet (1.55 meters) high and wide and that’s the way I keep it by pruning. At a certain time I decided to cut back all the branches to about 20 inches (50 cm ) from the ground after the bloom. After that it resprouted very well. That next spring there were less flowers, but the year after that it bloomed abundantly.
The Corylopsis pauciflora likes soil that is a bit acid and well-drained. It likes a sheltered position that shelters it against strong wind and is tolerant to drought.
Attracts bees: yes
Characteristic: deciduous
Deer resistant: no
Exposure: part shade
Flower color: yellow
Flowering time: February – April
Foliage color: green
Fragrant flower: no
Hardiness: -13 F/ -25 ºC
Height: 6.5 feet (2 m)
Soil: normal