FILBERTS & HAZELS
Ornamental Filberts
Corylus avellana 'Contorta'
Contorted Filbert, Harry Lauder's Walking Stick
These are some of our favorite plants for winter interest because the branches twist and turn in such a beautiful way. They carry catkins through winter that elongate when weather warms and yellow flowers bloom. Leaves are dull green, so not much to look at during summer.
Grows 8-10' x 8-10', sun-part shade, Z4
Corylus avellana 'Red Majestic'
Red Majestic Contorted Filbert
'Red Majestic' almost solves the problem of dull leaf color. Leaves emerge deep dusky purple and stay red until summer heat (sadly) turns them dark green. Catkins and flowers are pink.
Grows 8-10' x 8-10', sun-part shade, Z4
Corylus avellana 'Red Dragon'
Most contorted filberts are susceptible to Eastern Filbert Blight. Corylus avellana 'Red Dragon' is a new blight resistant variety that we haven't gotten a hold of yet, but hope to stock in the future.
Corylus colurna – Turkish Hazel
The Turkish Hazel is an easy to grow shade tree with decorative yellow catkins in late winter and nuts in summer. An excellent choice for wildlife habitat, it provides cover and food for birds and squirrels. It's resistant to Eastern Filbert Blight and adjusts to various soil conditions smoothly.
Grows 35-50' in a pyramid shape – Sun-part shade, Z4
Corylus cornuta v. californica – Western Hazelnut
Read our feature on this native Corylus
Filberts for Nut Production
Corylus avellana – European Hazelnut, Filbert
Oregon is the largest producer of Hazelnuts in the US with most orchards located in the Willamette Valley, and for years the industry has been plagued by Eastern Filbert Blight, an insidious fungal disease. To help one of our major food industries, Oregon State University developed a series of blight resistant varieties and (GREAT NEWS!) for the first time Portland Nursery is able to offer only disease resistant cultivars for sale!
Pollination: Plant two varieties to ensure good pollination & nut set. Use this pollination list to choose varieties.
- Eta – Theta or Jefferson
- Gamma - Yamhill
- Jefferson – Eta or Theta
- Theta – Jefferson or Eta
- Yamhill – Gamma
- Delta – disease resistant cultivar that pollinates more disease prone varieties Clark, Lewis, Hall's Giant
Harvest: Trees will begin producing nuts in about 2-3 years. Nuts ripen in autumn and are ready for harvesting when the husk can be removed easily. You may either hand pick or lay a cloth under the tree and tap the limbs to make the nuts drop. Nets may be used to keep the squirrels away.
Trees can grow up to 20' but can be kept at 10-12' x 10-12' and should be planted no more than 15' apart for good pollination.
Sun-part shade, Z4
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5050 SE Stark, Portland, OR
9000 SE Division, Portland, OR
Corylus 'Red Majestic'
FACTS:
FILBERTS & HAZELS
Family: Betulaceae
Genus: Corylus (CORE-ill-us)
Common: Harry Lauder's Walking Stick, Filbert, Hazelnut
Origin: Native to US, Europe, N.Africa, W.Asia, China
Characteristics:
- 15 species of deciduous shrubs & trees
- Male & female flowers are on the same plant.
- Male flowers occur in catkins that bloom in winter, yellow or pink.
- Female flowers are on lateral buds w/ prominent red stigmas
- Nuts set in clusters, each nut surrounded by involucre (modified leaves/bracts).
- Plant 2 different varieties that bloom in tandem if growing for nut production
Size: Varies depending on species.
Shrubby types grow to around 8-12'
Tree froms vary from 15' to 50'
Culture: Plant in sun-part shade
Problems: Eastern Filbert Blight has long plagued Oregon's Hazelnut orchards, but recently varieties have been developed that have strong resistance to the disease. Portland Nursery is fortunate to offer only blight resistant Filberts used for nut production in 2012.
Corylus cornuta v. californica Western Hazelnut (our native Filbert) & Corylus colurna Turkish Hazel are resistant to Filbert Blight. Read more about Filbert Blight
Filberts are susceptible to a number of additional disease problems. Most occur in the orchard setting (a lot of the same kind of plant grown in one place). Powdery Mildew is the most common problem in garden settings. Read more about Hazelnut diseases