Corylus avellana 'Contorta'

Contorted Filbert, Corkscrew Hazel, or Harry Lauders Walking Stick is famous for its sculptural, contorted branches. In late winter or early spring, the branches are covered in highly ornamental long, dangling yellow catkins. Catkins are much loved by early pollinators. Crinkled foliage emerges after the catkins.

Unlike the straight species, 'Contorta' does not produce hazelnuts.

Suckers should be promptly removed.

Distinctions: Winner of an Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticulture Society.

Zones: 4 to 8

Family: Betulaceae

Type: Deciduous Shrub

Height: 8 to 10 ft.

Spread: 8 to 10 ft.

Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade

Soil Conditions: Moist, organically rich, well-drained

Bloom Time: March to April

Bloom Color: Yellowish-green

Image Credits:

• Image 1 (catkins) SB Johnny, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
• Image 2 (summer form) Baummapper, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en>, via Wikimedia Commons
• Image 3 (foliage) Guilhem Vellut from Annecy, France, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
• Image 4 (winter branches) No machine-readable author provided. Farbenfreude assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons
• Image 5 (catkins) Rüdiger Stehn from Kiel, Deutschland, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
• Image 6 (spring form) Magnus Manske, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons