Hazel Trees

 

Hazel trees (Corylus avellana) are popular trees often used in landscape gardening. The Hazel is a pretty large deciduous shrub which can grow to up to 20ft in height and a wide spread of as much as 50ft. The Hazel is native to the United Kingdom, Ireland (where it is widespread) and other areas of the northern hemisphere. It is a common constituent of mixed hedging, hedgerows and can often be seen growing below Oak trees and Ash in mixed deciduous woods.

The Hazel tree is widely used in landscape gardens as the multi-stemmed, bushy, shrub has a number of interesting aspects that add greatly to the garden. Very early in the spring the hazel produces a mass of wonderful catkins , the male catkins (see photograph lower down this page) are pale yellow in color and are between five and twelve centimeters long, the female catkins are very small and hard to see usually concealed in buds or, in some varieties they can be bright red but only 1-3mm long.

The most well known aspect of the Hazel is it's excellent seeds (nuts). The hazelnut (shown below) grows up to 2.5cm with a diameter of around 1-2cm. The outer shell (involucre or husk) is removed to reveal the edible nut which is widely used in the confectionery industry as it goes extremely well with chocolate. As well as being very popular with humans the hazelnut are a popular food source for squirrels, when squirrels are shown eating a nut it is most commonly the hazelnut.

Varieties of Hazel Tree

The Common Hazel (Corylus avellana) is most widely grown for it's nuts as this species produces the best. It has large pale to mid-green leaves which are a rounded oval in shape with a jagged edge. It is highly attractive in early spring when it is festooned with a mass of long yellow catkins (a long dangling cluster of tiny flowers) which are followed by the edible nuts (shown left). There are a number of named varieties, such as Filbert (Corylus maxima) which are most suitable for use as ornamental shrubs in the garden.

The Golden-Leafed Hazel (Corylus avellana Aurea) is an outstanding variety of Hazel which has golden leaves which is excellent as a specimen tree or for use in a hedge. Although this deciduous shrub (or tree) produces catkins and nuts it is mainly grown for it's foliage.

The Purple Leafed Hazel (Corylus avellana Purpurea) is another hazel tree grown for it's foliage which is purple. To maintain the rich color the shrub should be grown in full sun. This shrub can be grown as a specimen tree but is more usually grown alongside the golden variety and common Hazel to form a colorful hedge.

The Corkscrew Hazel (Corylus avellana Contorta) is a cultivar of the filbert which has extremely twisted branches which create an almost sinister silhouette during the winter months. As early as January the shrub produces catkins which enhance the beauty and serve to highlight the unusual and remarkable shape. This wonderful Hazel was introduced in the late nineteenth century by an eminent gardener, Canon Ellacombe of Bitton, who grew the first ever Corkscrew Hazel in his garden at Myddelton House, England. Due to it's gnarled branches it has gained the nickname "Harry Lauder's Walking Stick".

 

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