European hazelnut is often grown as a large shrub, but it can also be used as a small tree. This species produces edible hazelnuts or filberts.
Size and Form:
This species can be a small tree or a large, suckering shrub. Mature height can range from 12 to 20 feet.
Native geographic location and habitat:
This plant is native to woodlands and hedgerows of Europe, western Asia, Greece, and Turkey.
Bark color and texture:
The brown bark is somewhat shiny and peels slightly.
Leaf or needle arrangement, size, shape, and texture:
Leaves are simple, alternate, ovate to heart-shaped with a doubly-toothed margin. They are green in summer with greenish-yellow fall color.
Flower arrangement, shape, and size:
Flowers consist of yellow, male flowers in pendulous catkins and tiny pink females at the end of branches.
Fruit, cone, nut, and seed descriptions:
It produces edible hazelnuts (filberts) enclosed in a frilly husk that mature from September to October.
Plant care:
Maintenance may be high due to the need to remove excess suckers. It is tolerant of alkaline soils.
List of pests, diseases, and tolerances:
Crown gall, leaf spots and scale insects can occur. Japanese beetles can damage foliage. Eastern filbert blight can be a serious problem for this species.
Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick (Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’):
This shrubby cultivar has curly, twisted stems that make an interesting winter feature. It grows 8 to 10 feet tall and seldom produces fruit. This is a grafted plant, so always remove suckers which are part of the rootstock.
Red Majestic (Corylus avellana ‘Red Majestic’):
This is another cultivar with curled stems. Foliage is reddish-purple instead of green.
Purple Haze hazelnut (Corylus ‘Purple Haze’):
This is an upright hybrid shrub reaching 8 to 10 feet high and 8 feet wide. New foliage emerges reddish-purple fading to bronzy green.
