Corylus cornuta

Common Names

Beaked Hazel, Beaked Hazelnut, Beaked Filbert, California Hazel, Western Hazel, Western Hazelnut, Filbert

Summary

Beaked Hazelnut is a deciduous, vase-like, multi-stemmed shrub native across much of the United States and Canada, with two subspecies (californica and cornuta), it forms dense thickets and typically reaches about 3–13 feet tall, featuring rounded, fuzzy leaves with doubly serrate margins that turn yellow in fall, long pendulous male catkins before the leaves, and tiny female flowers with red stigmas, nuts are small, brown, enclosed in a bristly leafy husk that extends beyond the nut to form a beak, in cultivation, it grows best in acidic to neutral, well-drained soils with moisture ranging from moist to dry, and in full sun to partial shade, it tolerates a wide range of soils and is hardy to USDA zones 5–8 and UK zone 4, root suckers form dense colonies, prompt removal helps maintain appearance and prevent excessive thicketing, nuts ripen in September to October and are edible for humans and wildlife, the plant is commercially grown for nut production and widely used in wildlife habitat plantings, propagation can be by seed (with stratification) or layering or division, there are generally few pest or disease problems with good resistance to filbert blight.

Lifecycle

Perennial

Height

3-15 feet

Spread

4-8 feet

Hardiness Zones

Zones 4-8

Sunlight Requirements

Ideally Full Sun to Partial Shade. Tolerates Partial Sun to Partial Shade.

Soil Type

Moist, well-drained soil

Soil Drainage

Moist but well-drained soil.

Soil pH

5.8-7.5

Bloom Color

Yellow-green (males) and red-purple (females)

Bloom Time

Winter, Spring

Foliage Color

Yellow in fall

Fall Foliage Color

Yellow

Leaf Lifecycle

Deciduous

Growth Rate

Medium

Seasons of Interest

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter

Propagation Methods

Seeds, Layering, Division

Attracts Wildlife

Attracts birds