Hazelnuts from both species are edible to humans. A relative of American hazel, called beaked hazel, is also planted for its nuts as well. Many people plant American hazelnut for the benefits its nuts provide. The shrub can also be planted to provide screening or as a shrub border. It is commonly found in prairies, along forest margins, streams, and roads. The shrub also prefers full sun and partial sun/shade. Male flowers form on pendulous catkins while female flowers can be seen by the red or magenta-colored stigmas appearing from buds.Īmerican hazelnut can tolerate any range of soil pH as long as the soils are moist, well-drained loamy soils. The plant is monoecious imperfect with both male and female flowers forming separately on the same plant. The buds of the shrub are gray-brown and on thin, zig-zag-shaped twigs with small red hairs. The nuts are in a soft, green shell that can be peeled off to reveal a harder shell that must be cracked to remove. The dark green leaves turn a brilliant yellow in the fall. Its leaves are oval, have jagged edges, and a heart-shaped base. The yellow hazel flowers help brighten up a barren winter landscape in preparation for spring.American hazel (Corylus americana) is a large shrub or small tree. The shrub will grow between 3 and 13 feet tall and tends to form thickets as it spreads readily by rhizomes. The dangling flowers measure 2” to 4.7” (5 – 12 cm) long and bloom in groups of two or three. You can plant the hazel shrub in shrub borders, grow as a screen or hedge, or prune suckers to produce a specimen nut tree.Ĭommon hazel flowers are long pendant clusters of pale-yellow catkins that appear in late winter. The multi-stemmed flowering shrub grows best in USDA zones 4 through 8. (4.5 m) wide.Īlso called European filbert, the common hazelnut shrub thrives in full sun to partial shade and prefers growing in moist, well-drained soil. Common hazel is identified by its showy yellowish flowers, rounded serrated leaves, and edible brown nuts that grow in greenish papery parcels. The common hazel is also called the European hazel, and it’s a tall suckering shrub with a spreading, umbrella-like canopy. To grow a hazelnut tree, regular pruning of the suckers lets you develop a single-stem flowering nut tree. The multi-stemmed shrubs are ideal for hedges, screens, and cottage gardens. Usually, hazel trees and shrubs produce nuts after two or three years.Ĭommon hazels such as the European hazel and American hazel are excellent landscaping plants for small to large gardens. It typically takes up to five years for a hazel tree to reach its mature height. Under ideal conditions, hazels have a medium growth rate and grow around 15” (40 cm) per year. The hardy deciduous tree thrives in USDA zones 4 through 9 and performs best in full sun and moist but well-drained organically rich soil. There are around 18 species of hazel trees and shrubs, many of which are native to eastern and central North America. Depending on the hazel species, the shrub-like tree grows between 8 and 20 ft. The tree has a clumping habit making it appear as a large shrub with a rounded, umbrella-like canopy. Hazel is a flowering shrub or tree in the plant genus Corylus and the birch family Betulaceae. Descriptions and pictures of hazel leaves, bark, flowers, and fruit will highlight the features and characteristics of this nut-producing shrub-like tree. This article is a guide to identifying the most common types of hazels you are likely to encounter in a landscape. The American hazelnut (Corylus americana) is a large flowering shrub that also produces edible nuts. The common hazel ( Corylus avellana) is the type of tree producing the most hazelnuts. Hazel trees and shrubs are identified by their rounded leaves with toothed margins, dangling cylindrical flower clusters, and smooth brown bark. Hazel is a group of large deciduous multi-stemmed shrubs or trees that produce tasty round hazelnuts. Email Pinterest Facebook Twitter Linkedin
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