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.
More Information
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 Description
The brown bark is somewhat shiny and peels slightly.
Leaf Description
Leaves are simple, alternate, ovate to heart-shaped with a doubly-toothed margin. They are green in summer with greenish-yellow fall color.
Flower Description
Flowers consist of yellow, male flowers in pendulous catkins and tiny pink females at the end of branches.
Fruit Description
It produces edible hazelnuts (filberts) enclosed in a frilly husk that mature from September to October.
Care Knowledge
Plant Care
Maintenance may be high due to the need to remove excess suckers. It is tolerant of alkaline soils.
Drought Tolerance
European hazelnut is typically found growing along streams, which indicates a flexibility to moisture presence—likely tolerant of some flooding and some periods of drought.
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.
Cultivars
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.
