Common Hazel

Common Hazel - Corylus avellana

Hazelnuts are delicious both to humans and wildlife! A tree grown from seed will start producing nuts 7-9 years after planting - but the wait is worth it! Common hazelnut is native to Europe and Asia. It grows to 20ft tall with a 10ft wide spread. It suckers readily and will need the suckers pruned, but other than that its a pretty fuss free tree. It can be coppiced (cut back to the ground completely and allowed to regrow on a 5-10 year rotation) and the wood used for stakes or fencing. It was also traditionally used in Europe to make living woven hedgerows or fences.

This year I'm growing two different hazel hybrids. One plant of each should help significantly with pollination and yield bumper crops of nuts. They're hardy to zone 3/4.