Torii

Thinking some more about the witch hazel plant I found in the park last week, in my post Witch Hazel (2-25-17). First, I did buy myself the Chinese Witch Hazel (Hamamelis mollis) plant for sale at Yard and Garden Land.  It's nice, and blooming beautifully, but I can tell that it's not the same as the witch hazel in the park.  My little plant has smaller blooms, downward facing, straighter branches, and is faster growing. It got me wondering if the tree in the park was a Japanese Witch Hazel (Hamamelis japonica), and that got me thinking about an old gate not too far from the witch hazel plant.  I think it's a Japanese torii, Shinto gate, and was part of the old homestead that used to be on this land.  I think the witch hazel, the gate, and a small dammed up pond are all that is left of the original home.  I searched around the area for a foundation but can't find anything or even guess where the home would have been located.  But given that the gate is Japanese, that also makes me think that the plant is Japanese.  One thing is for sure, Japanese or Chinese, it's a very old cultivar, and not one that can be purchased in nurseries these days.  I took a small cutting, and bought some rooting hormone, to try to propagate it.  Evidently witch hazels are not the easiest to grow from cuttings, but I'm following the instructions carefully, and I'll know in a few months if I succeeded or not.  In the meantime, my next step is to check the county records to find out who lived here, when did they build, when was it torn down, etc.  To be continued...