QUESTION: Do you know if witch hazel would survive in an urban area? I love them and see them all over the countryside, but I've been hesitant to try them since we never see them in the city.ANSWER: Witch hazels do wonderfully in Philadelphia, and considering how they can brighten the February-March garden, it's a pity so few people have discovered them.You already know the pleasures of witch hazels, genus "Hamamelis." The shrub grows in an open vase shape, eventually maturing at 12 feet in height. The flowers have thread-like petals in orange or yellow, and many are sweetly fragrant. The best cultivars have dense clusters of flowers that glow in the late-winter sun. Most have good yellow fall color, sometimes with orange tones or a narrow picotee of red-orange-green.Anthony Aiello, director of horticulture at Morris Arboretum, recommends thinking of the Wissahickon Gorge when siting a witch hazel - the soil is acidic and well-drained but never dry; there is part shade and, thanks to the terrain and other vegetation, protection from wind.OK, so you don't have woodland in your backyard; give the plant proper soil and irrigation and it will take even full sun. Remember that the little plant in a pot will develop a fair-size spread, so give it room and avoid root competition. If 12 feet is too big, simply remove the two or three oldest trunks every three to five years.Among the best are "Angelly" (yellow, fragrant), "Primavera" (yellow), "Diane" (red), and "Jelena" (orange). "Arnold Promise" (yellow, fragrant) is widely available and beautiful in bloom, but in recent years it has been susceptible to an anthracnose that discolors some leaves and causes them to drop in summer.And once a gardener has become enamored of witch hazels, there are the winter hazels to get to know.

QUESTION: My daffodils are already up. What happens if it snows and gets really cold again? What can I do?ANSWER: In brief, do nothing, for odds are overwhelming that all will be OK.It might be informative to think of the parallels between daffodil and human growth and sexual maturity. Just as people are not born ready to reproduce, so daffodils, and other spring bulbs, devote the first period after emerging from the ground to simply growing. The sexual reproductive stage - flowering - takes place midway through the life cycle.For now, though leaves may be above ground beginning their photosynthetic role of converting sunlight into energy, the incipient flower is biding its time below ground. Barring the unlikely event of a January-level cold spell in April, the bud stalks will not face conditions they cannot deal with. And, like humans, daffodils have a post-sexual maturity stage, too, when the leaves continue photosynthesizing. That's why they should be left alone after flowering to mature happily. Just like people.Send your gardening questions to Michael Martin Mills, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Box 8263, Philadelphia, PA 19101, or send e-mail to: Millsm@phillynews.comKRT News Service