European Hazelnut (Corylus avellana), Filbert
Exposure: Full sun to part shade. Zone 3.
Soil: Grows best in well-drained, loamy soils with regular moisture.
Growth habits: Medium to fast growing multiple stemmed shrubs or small trees growing from 12-20 feet tall and often forming a dense thicket. Hazels have quite ornamental catkins through the winter that fill out and color up in early spring. The nuts develop in late summer and can be harvested up to one month before they would be ripe on the plant and ripening indoors to avoid them becoming wildlife food. Hazels are a host plant for the truffle, our most delectable mushroom. Two matched varieties are needed for nut production.
Landscape uses: Makes a reliable shrub for foundation plantings, shrub borders or hedges. It makes an excellent companion plant in the orchard or shrub border due to its ability to fix nitrogen.
Edible/Medicinal properties: Produces small to medium-sized, flavorful, very nutritional nuts that go so well with chocolate. The wood is highly valued for crafts for being tough, flexible, and durable for use in wattle fencing or basketry.
Pollination: Hazelnut pollination is more complex than most of our Useful Plants. Hazelnuts have both male and female flowers. To keep the tree from pollinating itself, the female flowers will not be pollinated by pollen that is too similar, making the varieties incompatible. In addition, the male and female flowers open at different times, so the pollination can be one sided. Of the varieties we carry, these are the best pollination groups:
- Jefferson, Eta
- Yamhill, Gamma, Delta, Jefferson
- Rosita, Purple Fortin, Red Fortin (all pollinate each other and are more noted for their ornamental value than their nuts)
(The first variety has the best nuts, the second is its best pollinator, additional varieties will pollinate with one or the other of the first two. For best pollination, add varieties in the order listed.)
Named varieties: $49.00/5 gal, $60.00/5 gal for Gamma
Seedlings - $30.00/3 gal
Available Varieties
‘Delta’ – Newly released variety with complete immunity to Eastern Filbert Blight. Late flowering, pollinated by Yamhill and Gamma. Small round nuts.
'Eta' - One of the newest disease-resistant varieties. Late flowering and mid-season ripening. Enhances pollination and yields for Jefferson. Compatible with all varieties except Delta.
‘Gamma’ - Blight immune. Productive of medium-small nuts. An excellent pollinator for Yamhill and Delta.
‘Jefferson’ - immunity to Eastern Filbert Blight disease and high resistance to big bud mite. Produces a heavy yield of large flavorful nuts that fill their shells well. Similar to the standard Barcelona variety, but with fewer blanks and with a low incidence of shriveled kernels and moldy nuts. A late bloomer. Pollinates best with Eta, and some with Yamhill and Gamma.
‘Purple Fortin’ - purple catkin flowers in winter and purple foliage in spring and summer fading to bronze. Purple clusters of nuts mid-late summer.
'Red Fortin' - red catkin flowers in winter and red foliage in spring and summer fading to bronze. Clusters of nuts in flared red husks ripen mid-late summer. Nut isn't covered by a husk like it is for Purple Fortin.
‘Rosita’ (pollinate with Purple Fortin or Red Fortin) - deep red foliage that lasts well into the summer
‘Yamhill’ - The best kernel variety available at this time that has complete immunity to Eastern Filbert Blight. A small tree, productive of nice round nuts that are early ripening. Pollinates with Delta and Gamma.